The Burma Army (BA) likely massacred civilians when soldiers raided their village in Mindat Township after fighting with the Chinland Defence Force in the area, a statement by the armed group fighting to take down the military dictatorship has said.
According to CDF, on 7 November, about 120 soldiers raided Palon Twee, shot dead a villager and abducted nearly 40 people, including internally displaced persons who had fled previous fighting in southern Chin State.
The ethnic Yaw village near Magwe Region has only 50 people living in 20 houses.
The resistance group reported that junta soldiers abducted seven men and tied their hands behind their backs with ropes.
One of the hostages was reportedly taken to Htee Lin town, while the others are missing.
CDF said the army raided Palon Twee on the same day that they attacked the regime’s column nearby, killing at least two junta soldiers.
The Chin group was forced to abort its operation when the BA soldiers stormed the village and detained the civilians.
After the army withdrew, CDF spokesperson Salai Har Oum, told Khonumthung News that his patrolling soldiers found the charred remains of villagers. He said it was impossible to determine exactly how the people were killed because their bodies were so badly burnt that their bones had turned to dust.
“I assume that the BA killed six men and burnt their bodies together. I imagine that these men were brutally tortured by the soldiers before they killed them,” he said, pointing out how they’re “crimes against humanity”.