Thousands Forced to Flee Homes After Military Council Columns Arrive in Khin-U
By Network Media Group
Tuesday, August 29, 2023
Thousands of villagers in Sagaing Region have fled after two columns from the Military Council arrived on foot in various areas of Khin-U Township on 25 August. According to the Khin-U Township True News Information, around 8,000 people have sought safety.
According to an information officer, the regime’s Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 361 departed from its base in Shwebo town and reached the town of Khin-U by the following day. Reports indicated that the soldiers opened fire in the north, prompting villagers to flee. Currently, the column is staying in Hner Tawng Hla, where a Pyusawhtee, a civilian militia formed by the Military Council, is based.
The second column, comprising 100 soldiers originating in Ye-U, journeyed to Myinsee in southern Shwebo Township. On 27 August, the column attacked villages using light and heavy weaponry. The soldiers have since arrived in Aung Tha in the south of the township while returning to Ye-U.
“There have been no clashes in the southwestern Khin-U Township; however, they attacked villages with heavy weapons, causing the people to flee. Currently, the military column is situated in Aung Tha. The soldiers have killed cows, pigs, and chickens in the village and consumed them,” explained the officer.
Approximately 5,000 individuals from the village, along with at least 6 surrounding villages, have been compelled to seek refuge in the jungle or Buddhist monasteries to escape the invading troops. Some of these villages, namely Kyar Pin Ai, Thayet Pin Won, Nyaung Pin Gyi Su, and Thimar Taw, are situated on the border between Khin-U and Shwebo Township.
Some of the 3,000 people in Pin Tin and three other villages in the northern township, who were forced to flee before LIB 361 arrived from Shwebo town, are carefully monitoring the situation to assess if it’s safe to return home now that the column has left.
Residents complain that frequent patrols by the Burma army are preventing them from working on their farms.
