Junta forces arrested five members of the People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) in Myanmar’s Sagaing region. They shot four of them, while the other is still missing, residents told RFA.
Three of the dead were named as Zaw Oo, Khing Lin and Min Than, according to locals. The other man was not identified.
They were shot by troops in Hpoke Tan Taw village.
A local resident, who declined to be named for security reasons, told RFA a military column with nearly a hundred soldiers has been stationed in Hpoke Tan Taw village since last Tuesday. They arrested the PDF members who snuck into the village to assess the situation on Saturday evening
“The four people who were shot were hit in their head and their heads were crushed. They were heavily tortured and finally shot in the mouth. When we entered the village this morning, we found dead bodies next to the entrance of the Shwe Gu Gyi pagoda. The four who died are estimated to be aged between 18 and 25,” a local told RFA.
This morning, he said the military convoy returned to two villages northwest of Hpoke Tan Taw causing hundreds of residents to flee.
More than 800 residents of Hpoke Tan Taw village, which as nearly 300 houses, fled to nearby villages and forests in the past week according to residents.
RFA has not been able to independently verify the locals claims. Military columns with hundreds of soldiers have entered villages in Tabayin township since August 2, and arrested more than 50 residents, locals said.