5 Jan 2025 By Hlaing / MPA
The military junta set fire to three villages in the Sa Bay Village Tract near Myit Chay Town in Magway Region’s Pakokku District, displacing residents who are now in desperate need of humanitarian assistance, according to local sources and relief organizations.
A column of 200 troops from the Pakokku-based Light Infantry Division 101 launched the attack on Dec.29, 2024, burning nearly 200 homes in Ywar Thit, Chaing, and the eastern, middle, and western parts of Sa Bay Village, located about four miles from Myit Chay Town.
A humanitarian official told MPA, “The junta’s column burned down between 150 and 250 houses, affecting 500 to 600 people. Essential supplies such as rice, oil, salt, and fish paste are urgently needed. Many households in Pakokku Township have been devastated by these arson attacks.”
Currently, four displacement camps in Kanma Township are sheltering around 3,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Pakokku District.
Clashes between junta forces and local defense groups erupted on Dec. 29 and 30, 2024. After the confrontations, the junta troops retreated to Aung Thar Pyu Saw Htee militia village on Thursday.
The official added that the junta conducted two major offensives in Pakokku Township in December 2024, burning down approximately 15 villages and leaving thousands of residents in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.
A fishmonger from Myit Chay described the shock and fear among residents, “Junta aircraft frequently flew over Myit Chay after the attack on Yae Lar Lay Pyu Saw Htee Village. But we never expected them to march in and burn villages like this.”
On Dec. 29, 2024, the junta fired heavy artillery into Myit Chay Town, killing five people, including three children, in Ward No. 1.
Additionally, nearly 200 homes were destroyed in villages such as Yae Lar Gyi, War Kyun Kwin, Hpaung Kyaung, Hpaung Kwe, Zaung Chan Kone, Oh Yin, Htan Ta Pin, and Pyayt Aing. These acts were reportedly in retaliation for a resistance attack on Yae Lar Lay Village along the Mindat-Pakokku Highway, about 16 miles from Pakokku, on Dec.11, 2024.
According to a report by Data For Myanmar, junta troops have destroyed 106,409 civilian homes in arson attacks between the military coup on Feb.1, 2021, and Sept.30, 2024.