Junta soldiers and allied Pyu Saw Htee militia members are entering villages in the northern part of Ywangan Township in southern Shan State and intimidating and threatening villagers.
At around 8:00 am on 17 July, junta soldiers and Pyu Saw Htee members suddenly arrived in several Ywangan Township villages to the north and west of Ywangan Town, the township’s administrative centre. They went from house to house arresting residents. They then gathered all the arrested residents together in the village schools and threatened that the villagers would face consequences if any harm came to Pyu Saw Htee members when they were in the villages.
A resident from one of the affected villages explained that around 40 soldiers and Pyu-Saw-Htee militia members in three trucks suddenly appeared in his village.
He said: “The soldiers came into the village suddenly, so everyone was really scared. Rumours spread fast that they were kidnapping people for conscription, so everyone tried to hide as quickly as they could. Those who couldn’t hide in time were taken to the village school. There, the soldiers threatened them, saying the community had to keep the Pyu-Saw-Htee members safe. They warned that if anything happened to the Pyu-Saw-Htee, the villagers would face the consequences. They also said the villagers had to obey the Pyu-Saw-Htee’s orders.”
He added that, fortunately, when the soldiers and Pyu Saw Htee members left the village they did not take any villagers with them. But, their arrival in the village and their threats caused panic and led to some villagers fleeing their homes because they were worried about their safety.
A woman from another village that the soldiers and Pyu Saw Htee militia went to said: “When they showed up out of nowhere with guns in their hands, I was so scared I couldn’t even speak. Some people were crying, and others were frozen with fear. We were really worried the soldiers might take our kids to join the army.”
Large numbers of junta soldiers have been carrying out raids on villages across Ywangan Township on an almost daily basis, according to locals.
