Junta artillery fire killed one villager and injured two others in Sagaing Region’s Maung Htaung Village before junta troops burned down 27 houses in the village, on the morning of 5 September.

Junta troops marched the three miles from Kutaw Police Station in Budalin Township, Sagaing Region to Maung Htaung Village, which is also in Budalin Township. They then opened fire on Maung Htaung Village with artillery before burning down 27 houses and stealing villagers’ possessions.

“There was no battle between PDFs and junta forces. They just set fire to the village and took villagers’ belongings. I think that maybe they [the junta troops] are running out of food, they seem to be starving. That’s why they came into the village, to look for food, said a member of Golden Brothers, a local people’s defence force (PDF), who witnessed the attack.

He explained that about 20 junta troops had entered the village and opened fire with heavy weapons killing one villager and injuring others.

The troops stayed the day in Maung Htaung Village before leaving to go back to Kutaw Police Station on the evening of 5 September.