In Pwintbyu Township, Magway Region, members of the junta-aligned Pyusawhti militia killed residents in two villages.

Locals told Than Lwin Times that Pyusawhti members killed villagers in Thamanyin and Monezale in late May and early June.

Pyusawhti members reportedly hunted down and killed civilians suspected of links to the resistance after a former resistance fighter defected and exposed them.

“They were exposed by a comrade who deserted from Battalion 4 under the Minbu District Command of the People’s Defence Force (PDF). Alongside the killings, there were also reports of arrests in other incidents,” a local said.

On May 29, members of the Kyaungkonegyi Village-based Pyusawhti group killed 50-year-old Thamanyin villager U Htay Aung at his hut in a forest.

On June 2 at around 5:00 a.m., the same militia group killed 55-year-old Monezale villager U Aung Kyaw Oo, accusing him of having links to the PDF.

Locals speculate that both victims may have had links to PDF Battalion 4.

Separately, seven other people were arrested in Pwintbyu Township in May after a deserter allegedly exposed them.