Government soldiers razed most of the houses in a village after suffering heavy casualties during fighting with a resistance group in Tamu Township, Sagaing Region, a couple of days earlier.

“We are devastated, but there is nothing we can do except accept the situation. All the villagers are sad and some of them are crying. They are so cruel,” a man whose house was torched said on condition of anonymity.

Of the 29 houses in Kun Tawng Ywar Thit (also called Chin village), the army set fire to 24 on 25 March.

The army often targets civilians in Sagaing Region and other areas of Burma where civil war is happening after incurring fatalities.

On the morning of 23 March, heavy fighting broke out between the Tamu People’s Defence Force (PDF) and the Burma army near the village. After many junta soldiers were killed, they flew airstrikes against the resistance forces fighting to overthrow the dictatorship, according to the PDF.

Civilians have reached safety by crossing the border into India. The military is staying in Kun Tawng Ywar Thit, they told Khonumthung News.