New satellite images gotten by RFA reveals the destruction triggered by Myanmar junta forces who witnesses say set fire to two towns, two miles apart, driving thousands of people from homes now decreased to ashes.
The after-dark arson attacks versus Mwe Tone and Pan villages in Sagaings Pale municipality, in the conflict-hit nations northwest, took location Jan. 31. According to local homeowners, the towns were suspected of harboring anti-junta forces.
The citizens, who spoke on condition of anonymity for their security, believe the burnings were retaliation for attacks released the previous week in Inn Ma Htee village, which lies about 4 miles to the west of Pan, and Zee Phyu Kone village, about 14 miles to the north, by fighters from several regional Peoples Defense Force, or PDF, militia that are battling the junta.
PDF groups claimed responsibility for Jan. 23 raids on training school of pro-junta militia, called Phyu Saw Tee, in those villages, and declared at least five junta troops or militia were killed in Zee Phyu Kone. RFA could not independently confirm that information.
Phyu Saw Tee groups, thought formed by operatives from the primary pro-military party around the country, have actually ended up being a gamer in Myanmars expanding civil conflict which was activated by the military coup against the chosen civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi one year earlier.
Junta forces are progressively resorting to arson versus civilian settlements as they have a hard time to include the popular opposition and the armed resistance to the military guideline of coup leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing.
Homeowners told RFA that about 100 soldiers from Myaing town in surrounding Magwe region got in Mwe Tone and Pan villages and set structures on fire. Soldiers destroyed some 220 of the 265 homes in Mwe Tone and almost one-fourth of the 800 homes in Pan.
The satellite imagery shows most of Mwe Tone is stressed out, with just a few buildings on its periphery still intact. What seems a Buddhist temple or stupa still stands on the eastern side of the village.
” The armed force is burning down villages they believe are strongholds of local PDF forces,” a villager from Pan informed RFA. Their town is a wasteland.
Photos and video shot by citizen reporters on the ground in the two towns in the after-effects program smoldering ruins, blackened palm trees and charred corpses of animals.
Mwe Tone Village, Pale Township, Sagaing Region. Earlier images are done by Google Earth CNES taken 11/11/2020. Recent images are done by Planet Labs analysis by RFA.
A building on fire at Pan town during the Jan. 31, 2022, arson attack. (Credit: Citizen journalist).
According to locals, individuals left when the soldiers went into the town, but were unable to take their valuables and lost their livestock in the blaze.
2 miles to the west throughout arid rice fields is Pan village, which is a bigger, more scattered settlement. The heart of that village is now likewise gutted, the images shows.
Pan Village, Pale Township, Sagaing Region. Earlier images are done by Google Earth CNES taken 11/11/2020. Recent images are done by Planet Labs analysis by RFA.
The after-dark arson attacks against Mwe Tone and Pan villages in Sagaings Pale municipality, in the conflict-hit countrys northwest, took location Jan. 31. Mwe Tone Village, Pale Township, Sagaing Region. Pan Village, Pale Township, Sagaing Region.” The armed force is burning down towns they believe are strongholds of local PDF forces,” a villager from Pan informed RFA. Dozens of towns across Myanmar have seen arson attacks considering that the coup.
Citizens said almost 10,000 individuals from the 2 towns and surrounding area left their homes during the attack and were nestling at monasteries, in close-by towns, at Pale town, and in makeshift camps. There were no immediate reports of death or injuries.
Calls to junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun to inquire about the village burnings went unanswered. Customarily, the military denies setting fire to towns and blames anti-junta militia instead.
The rejections carry significantly little weight. Lots of towns across Myanmar have witnessed arson attacks considering that the coup. According to the research group Data for Myanmar, from the start of the coup on Feb. 1, 2021, up until Feb. 4, 2022, some 3,379 homes have been destroyed in fire, primarily in the Sagaing and Magwe regions and in Chin State.
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