The bodies of eight villagers killed by the military were cremated in southern Kalay Township, Burma’s Sagaing Region.
It’s believed that some of them were villagers from Yay Shin where the Burma Army (BA) attacked on September 3 and fired on people’s houses.
At least 7 houses and several vehicles were destroyed by fire and soldiers searched the houses of the residents and stole their property in the village on the east bank of Myit Tha River.
A man from Yay Shin said that due to the poor decomposition of the bodies, they could only identify three villagers and didn’t know where the other five people came from or if they were members of the People’s Defence Force (PDF), which is fighting with the BA.
“Their necks were slashed with a knife,” he said.
The local PDF chapter reported that there were clashes with the military in the village on the day of the attack and that at least eight BA soldiers were killed while three of its own sustained injuries.
It’s not possible for Khonumthung News to confirm the death toll during the conflict in the village at Kalay Township.
At least 13 villages fled when the violence happened, some taking refuge in the jungle or in Buddhist monasteries in the area. A resident said everyone ran away when the soldiers came to Yay Shin. He hasn’t been able to feed his pigs for three days because all the roads are blocked.
“We can’t buy food or pay our phone bill either,” he said.
Another villager told Khonumthung News that east of Myit Tha River, Kyaukse, Kyauk Pyouk, Inn Kyun, Yay Shin, Lae Char, Kokko, Shardaw and Nwar villages are affected by the fighting. The villages west of the river are Tin Tha, Kyauk Hpu, Doh Nwe, Ashay Si and Kyan Tha.