Junta troops burned down about 100 houses and killed an old man when they started fires in Mae Oh Village in the east of Sagaing Region's Depayin Township on 10 and 11 December, according to locals.

A resident of the village said: “As far as I know, an old man was caught up in the fire in Mae Oh Village. There were about 100 houses in that village and now only 10 houses are left. They burned down almost the whole village.”

The junta soldiers also wrote a publicly visible message on a whiteboard that said: “The more you support the PDFs the more disasters will befall you and the more ashes there will be.”

Previously, also in Depayin Township, the military also set fire to Thapyathar Village and Nyaung Hla Village destroying about 200 houses.

Since 1 December this year, Myanmar junta troops have been setting fire to villages in Depayin Township. Between 1 and 12 December they set fire to more than 20 villages in the township destroying more than 1,000 houses.