Junta soldiers started setting fire to and destroying houses in Maungmeishaung Village, Dawei Township, Tanintharyi Region at around 3:00 pm on 5 August.

This followed the deaths of at least four junta soldiers during fierce fighting between junta forces and people’s defence forces (PDFs) near Maungmeishaung Village on 4 August.

According to residents, junta soldiers, including some who were injured during the fighting on 4 August, have been setting fire to houses in the eastern part of the village and the flames can be seen from a distance.

It has been impossible to accurately ascertain how many houses have been burned down as the junta soldiers still control the village, but residents estimate that at least ten house have been burnt down.

Junta soldiers have been thieving in Maungmeishaung Village and systematically looting valuable items from houses.

Since the February 2021 coup junta forces had set fires in Maungmeishaung Village more than three times, burning down dozens of houses, according to locals.

Most of the village's inhabitants have fled and been hiding elsewhere for the last two months because of the fierce fighting.

The junta and its allies have burned down more than 95,000 houses across the country since the coup, according to 24 July 2024 report by Dat