After the military invited civilians displaced by fighting to return to their villages in Demawso Township, many were horrified after discovering that armed forces had completely looted and destroyed their homes.

“My house was hit by shells and riddled with bullet holes…They (soldiers) destroyed everything inside it. There is nothing left,” The man explained the Army destroyed his TV, refrigerator, cabinet and ruined all of his clothing. He said soldiers even took his new cooking pots, pans and plates.

The military stayed in people’s homes during the conflict against the People’s Defence Force (PDF).

Civilians also found live shells and ammunition around their dwellings. Burma Army artillery fire destroyed many homes during weeks of indiscriminate attacks on the villages in the township.

The Army made villagers who had secretly returned to their homes in western Demawso Township work for them.

“Soldiers forced some to carry their food ration and military equipment,” a villager from western Demawso Township told Kantarawaddy Times. Soldiers ordered residents on their knees before beating them, the person explained. After seizing their phones, they put them to work.

A military column shot at residents keeping guard of Patan Kho village in Myalae village tract on June 11.

Local groups appealed to military leaders not to fight in western Demawso Township. PDF listened but Burma Army sent soldiers to patrol the area. They looted homes and killed and ate people’s chickens and pigs.

No one dared to stay in their villages with the soldiers. According to recent reports on social media, the military arrested some civilians who returned home after hiding out in the jungle camps.