Myanmar junta troops set fire to Kanthit Village in Sagaing Region’s Khin U township for the third time in less than a month on 4 June.

According to villagers, junta soldiers fired light and heavy weapons into the village before entering the village of approximately 600 households and setting fire to houses at about 4:00 p.m. on 4 June.

Previously on 19 May, the junta burned down two houses in Khanthit Village. On 20 May they burned down 195 houses. They also set fire to the village a year ago, in June 2022, when they burned down 52 houses.

The number of houses burned down in the most recent attack is still unknown.

“We were unable to get close to Kanthit Village and we do not yet know the precise extent of the damage”, a Khin U Township Information Officer said to Mizzima.

About 100 junta soldiers entered Khin U Township on 1 June and since then they have set fire to the villages of: Mayaninn, Thargaya, Gwaykone, and Kanthit, even though there has been no recent fighting in the area.

As of the evening of 5 June, the junta soldiers are still stationed in Kanthit Village. Their prescence has caused 3,000 people to flee the area and they are now in need of assistance.

The junta soldiers have set fire to 74 villages in Khin U Township, destroying more than 5,000 houses making more than 30,000 people homeless and in urgent need of aid, according to the Khin U Township Information team.