Junta troops raided a village in Nyaung-U Township, Mandalay Region, burning down more than 30 houses, locals reported.

The junta column entered Kyaukpyinkan Village on January 28 and launched arson attacks around 3:30 p.m. That day, the roughly 70-strong column reportedly burned at least 32 houses in the village’s northwest.

“The whole village had already been evacuated the night before because we knew junta troops were coming. Around 7 a.m., the soldiers arrived, stationed themselves in the village, and ransacked the houses. By about 3:30 p.m., smoke was rising, showing that houses were on fire. It wasn’t until the soldiers left in the evening that the young villagers could return and put out the flames,” said a 40-year-old Kyaukpyinkan villager.

The junta column departed Shwehlaing Village in Nyaung-U Township on January 27, traveling in three trucks along the road connecting Nyaung-U and Kyaukpadaung.

Locals reported that the regime soldiers spent the night in Zeezarhmyin Village before continuing on foot to Kyaukpyinkan Village the following morning. They set fire to the houses as they left, after ransacking the deserted homes in the village.

Although the junta column has departed, villagers are still reluctant to return home, fearing it could come back.

“The soldiers are gone from the village, but the villagers still don’t dare go back, so they’re hiding in the nearby forests. The smell of burning still hangs over the village. They’re too afraid the soldiers might come back. Everyone is just waiting until they’re sure it’s safe,” a Kyaukpyinkan villager said.

After leaving Kyaukpyinkan, the junta column moved through Gyoekan Village before continuing to Kannipauk Village.

The column also entered Montaing Village, southeast of Kyaukpyinkan, on the morning of January 27, burning down around 30 houses.

In Nyaung-U Township, junta columns have been roaming rural areas, torching villages, and forcing thousands of locals to flee to nearby forests, leaving them in urgent need of emergency aid.