Myanmar junta soldiers set fire to Pain In Village and then shot dead four residents of nearby villages who came to inspect the damage in Sagaing Region’s Indaw Township on 18 December.

According to local news sources the junta soldiers then buried the bodies in Pain In Village Monastery.

A local said: “When the junta set fire to Pain In Village, four victims from different villages banded together and went to inspect the damage. They were apprehended and killed by junta soldiers. We dug up three bodies today [19 December], transferred the remains to family members and buried them in their respective cemeteries in their villages. We still do not know the identity of the victim from Shwe Chaung Village.”

The three identified victims were named as Ko Aung Naing Tun of Nanthae Village, Ko Ne Win of Kunchaung Village, Ko Kyaw Lwin of Maugone Village, all in Indaw Township.

Following this incident, also in Indaw Township, 100 junta troops set fire to Sektawkone Village and almost completely destroyed it, according to the Indaw Revolution defence force.

Over 5,000 people have fled from 12 villages in Indaw Township, according to Indaw Revolution.