Myanmar junta atrocities surge in Danu region of Shan State

Mizzima

Widespread violence and human rights abuses by Myanmar’s Military Council have intensified in Ywangan Township, located in the Danu Self-Administered Zone of southern Shan State, according to a report released by the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) on 24 April.

Titled “Mass Atrocities Committed by the Military Council in the Heartland of the Danu,” the report details a disturbing escalation of military violence in the region since May 2022. It outlines a systematic pattern of abuses including the burning of villages, looting, arbitrary arrests, torture, extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, and civilian deaths caused by artillery and airstrikes.

Among the most egregious cases documented is the gang rape of three women by soldiers from the 55th Light Infantry Division in May 2023. Another incident involves the sexual assault of a 23-year-old woman in Ywangan who was later sentenced to 12 years in prison under the Anti-Terrorism Act. Detainees at the Ywangan police station were also reportedly denied access to sanitary products unless they complied with interrogators, the report claims.