616,500 villagers are IDPs in Sagaing division post- coup says UN

The Military Council troops not only raided and burned the Tabayin Kwe village in Sagaing township, but also killed a monk, a member of regional defense forces and two civilians, locals said.

A total of around 50 Military Council troops and Pyu-Saw-Htee militiamen from Kywe Pon village entered Tabayin Kwe village, firing small arms and artillery at around 6:00 am on January 7th. After the shooting they then set ablaze about 70 houses and killed local people.

The slain victims were a 42-year-old monk, a comrade from Sagaing district’s 8th Battalion, 3rd Division, A 32-year-old woman and a 35-year-old man.

After raiding Tabayin Kwe village, the Military Council troops went back around 10:00 am to Kywe Pon village where they are based.

In December the Military Council troops set fire to 11 villages in Sagaing township and 3 neighborhoods in Sadaung township, destroying 2 monasteries and more than 800 houses.

Since the coup this ruthless campaign against the local farmers and civilians who took up arms against the regime has resulted in total of 616,500 villagers forced to flee from their homes and become internal refugees (IDPs) in Sagaing since the coup, according to a Dec. 3 statement by UNOCHA( the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs).