The Burma Army (BA) murdered five men after brutally torturing them in their village in Sagaing Region, where the regime has been conducting a clearance campaign against resistance groups and civilians in the area since September last year.

Last Saturday, 18 June, soldiers arrested the men and three women, including a 16-year-old, in Nyaung Pin Tae. The women were released before the soldiers killed the men and burned their bodies and a house in the village in Chaung-U Township.

As most of the villagers had fled into the jungle before the soldiers arrived in Nyaung Pin Tae, the charred bodies of the men were discovered by local residents who returned on Monday to find the village floor covered in blood.

“Two were burnt in a rice field, two in the house and another who was dragged by the soldiers was shot in the head and stomach,” a villager told NMG, asking to remain anonymous.

According to an anonymous resident from Chaung-U Township, the military abducted villagers from Taw Kyaung Lay on 14 June and burnt down 100 houses.

“BA arrested many villagers and used them as human shields. They forced them to carry food rations and military equipment. I heard that they killed some of them (3) when they could no longer carry their supplies.” He said the soldiers has committed serious human rights violations in the area.

The junta has cut connectivity in Chaung-U and many other townships in the Sagaing Region, making it difficult for the media to accurately report on what's happening to civilians from the area.