A heavily armed military column comprising roughly 350 troops has occupied strategic locations across Saw town and detained at least 20 young men following intensive drone strikes and artillery bombardment, local sources reported.

A resident of Saw said the military column, comprising around 350 troops, entered the town on the evening of 14 May after launching drone strikes and shelling the area with heavy weapons, before taking positions at U Phoe Hlaing Hall, high-rise buildings and pagodas across the town.

“When junta troops entered the town, they first moved into the Thiri neighbourhood and began conducting house-to-house arrests of young people,” the resident told Mizzima. “We had no time to escape and were trapped inside the town. At least 20 youths have been arrested.”

The military column entered residential areas from the direction of the Wimudtikone Standing Buddha Pagoda on the eastern side of Saw town.

Reports emerged on the morning of 15 May that some detainees had been released, although the number of those freed and the status of the remaining detainees could not be independently confirmed.

A local resistance fighter said a military column of around 50 troops departed Saw town on the morning of 15 May and advanced toward A Kyi Ka Tin and A Nya Ka Tin villages along the road linking Saw Township with Kanpetlet Township in Chin State.

“The column is a joint force from the No. 25 Defense Industry Factory based in Laungshe and troops from the No. 21 Defense Industry Factory that advanced along the Salin Creek,” the resistance fighter said.

Local sources said military tensions in Saw Township have escalated sharply as an estimated 500 troops from the Pauk-based No. 24 Defense Industry Factory along with additional columns advancing from the Laungshe area, continue their operations in the region.

Residents who have been unable to flee are reportedly living in constant fear and anxiety amid the growing military presence.