The Military Council troops burned down about 130 houses across two villages in Launglon Township, located in the Tanintharyi Region, and fatally shot a villager, locals said.

The Military Council troops, who arrived by waterway, set fire to approximately 130 houses in the villages of Nyawpyin and Aukkyaukwut in Launglon Township in Dawei District. Additionally, they fatally shot a villager who attempted to extinguish the flames.

Ko Kham Me (23), an Aukkyaukwut villager, was detained by troops from the Military Council while attempting to extinguish the fires that had engulfed the houses. And was shot in the head at close range, a 50-year-old local said.

“The soldiers left Nyawpyin and Aukkyaukwut villages around 4:00 PM. But we heard that they are still around Kyauknimaw and Kyauktwin villages”, he informed.

On March 21st, at approximately noon, the Military Council troops launched arson attacks on Nyawpyin and Aukkyaukwut villages.

The soldiers who arrived by waterway set fire to the houses in Nyawpyin village at around noon, and then proceeded to burn the houses in Aukkyaukwut at around 1:30 PM, according to locals.

The arson attacks resulted in the destruction of 96 houses in Nyawpyin and around 40 houses in Aukkyaukwut.

After the soldiers left, some villagers risked putting out the fire, but it persisted until approximately 9:00 PM.

Most of the local residents were hesitant to return to their homes until March 22nd, and many are still displaced and fleeing the area, even after the departure of the Military Council troops.

In addition, the Military Council burned down five houses in Aukkyaukwut and fatally shot six captured villagers en masse on March 4th.

Nyawpyin and Aukkyaukwut are villages located en route to Grandfather Beach, a popular resort in Dawei.

The Military Council, which has been employing the tactic of burning civilian homes as part of their scorched earth strategy in the Sagaing and Magway Regions, is now utilizing this method in the Tanintharyi Region.