Myanmar military forces burn five villages in Myingyan Township in coordinated arson spree

Military units operating under the Naypyidaw Command launched a series of coordinated arson attacks across northern Myingyan Township in Mandalay Region, destroying five villages in a single day on 12 April. According to the Myingyan Township Public Action Committee, the targeted communities include Htain Pan, Ywar Thit, Kyi Pin Kan, Yong Htoe Swal, and Sate Kone.

Arson attacks by Naypyidaw Command forces have devastated HtainPan village, leaving only two or three houses standing out of more than 500, while in Ywar Thit village, just around 10 of over 400 homes remain, according to local sources.

The extent of damage in the other burned villages of Kyi Pin Kan, Yong Htoe Swal, and Sate Kone remains unclear, an official from the Myingyan Township Public Action Committee said on 13 April.

“The military column torched the villages before withdrawing, leaving nearly all of them deserted,” he said.

A Naypyidaw Command force of around 300 troops has split into three columns in Myingyan Township, carrying out village burnings and drone attacks, according to an official from the Myingyan Generation Z Group.

“They are advancing into villages north of Myingyan and dropping bombs from drones on areas sheltering displaced people,” he said.

According to the Myingyan Township Public Action Committee, two military columns entered the villages from the direction of Thit Yon village while a third advanced from Sate Kone; after setting the villages ablaze, all units withdrew toward Thit Yon.

A Naypyidaw Command column entered Phat Pin Ai village in Myingyan Township on 2 April and shot dead eight local residents and three members of a defence force, in what the National Unity Government (NUG) Human Rights Ministry described as a mass killing of civilians and a war crime, according to a statement issued on 8 April.