Myanmar junta soldiers have allegedly set fire to six hostages in Thit Sein Gyi village in eastern Wetlet Township, Sagaing Division, according to local villagers.

About 100 Military Council troops entered Thit Sein Gyi village by boat and arrested six villagers at around 2 am on January 29.

"Six local men were handcuffed and taken away as human shields. When junta soldiers left yesterday, the arrested villagers were found to have been set on fire," a local resident said Friday.

An eyewitness confirmed that six villagers from Thit Sein Gyi had their hands tied and were burned to death.

Following the arrest of the villagers, the troops camped in the forest near the village for five days.

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) in Wetlet Township demanded the release of innocent villagers arrested on February 1 by the military troops and or the Military Council to confront the local People’s Defense Forces (PDF) bravely without using villagers as human shields.

On January 9, junta troops entered Thit Sein Gyi village and arrested about 50 women in the village.

The military council has been using helicopters to attack the eastern part of Wetlet township since December 2021.

Locals fled from the old town of Hanlin Pyu as troops invaded and destroyed villages in the eastern part of Wetlet Township on February 3.

In one incident, a local man from Mingone village in Wetlet Township was hit by an artillery shell fired by the Military Council while returning home to feed cattle, according to local people.