Myanmar junta personnel shot dead a 20-year-old villager and burnt down more than 150 houses in the villages of Nyaw Pyin Village and Aukkyaukwut in Tanintharyi Region’s Launglon Township.

Villagers left their homes and fled the junta soldiers and Pyu Pyu Saw Htee militia members who entered the villages and set fire to them. so far, only a few tens of villagers have returned to the villages.

20-year-old Aung Soe Min was shot dead by junta forces as he was trying to extinguish fires in Aukkyaukwut Village.

“Houses have been burned and villagers are scared for their safety and scared to go back to the village because they are frightened that the Military Council might come back to the village”, said a resident of Aukkyaukwut Village.

Prior to this attack on the villages, there had been no fighting in the area. The torching of people’s homes was intentional provocation by the junta.

“The residents of both villages are fleeing the war. So, they have to hide in the jungle, far away from the villages”, said a resident of Nyaw Pyin Village.

According to local news sources the junta has been raiding villages in Launglon Township throughout March causing thousands of residents to flee their homes.