SAC Brutally Murders 19 Civilians in Kawlin Township
By Network Media Group
Saturday, January 13, 2024
The State Administration Council (SAC) has murdered 19 civilians, including two women and one child, who were abducted near the Jade Pagoda in Kawlin Township, Sagaing Region, a member of the People’s Administration for the township told NMG.
“Nine dead bodies were lined up on the road, and the other bodies were found around the road. Soldiers from the Burma army killed them all,” he said.
According to local news sources, an Infantry Battalion 120 column from the Wuntho base kidnapped them at the pagoda when the people stopped there to rest awhile. They were murdered seven days later, and their bodies were dumped at what locals call 5-miles, which is the junction of Kawlin, Wuntho, and Pinlebu townships.
Only five of the victims, including the child, have been identified by the People’s Administration as being from Kawlin Township. The rest have not been identified.
“We found one of the deceased’s stomach was cut open. Another person’s head was broken into pieces. Another three persons’ legs were tied with ropes and cut off,” he said. They are trying to establish the identity of the other 14 people. 5.56 shell casings, produced by the military regime’s munitions factory, were found around the bodies.
Due to the presence of an SAC column in the area, the council member explained that their People’s Defence Force troops could not collect all the bodies or gather much information from the crime scene.
Locals reported hearing a loud explosion after SAC abducted the civilians.
SAC has escalated airstrikes, shelling, and other terror tactics against civilians since resistance forces captured the district-level town of Kawlin in the township sharing the same name, hoping to retake it. On January 2, SAC shelled the town from Wuntho, killing six people instantly when shells landed in the market in Kawlin.
