Myanmar junta’s ‘hit and run’ arson attacks leave cut-off villages with no source of help

Since the February 2021 coup, junta forces have set fire to more than 6,000 homes, largely in areas where anti-regime resistance is fiercest

In the northeast, villages face not only military violence but struggle to receive aid and funding as they’re placed under a communications blackout

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Many Myanmar residents lost their homes after the attack by junta forces on April 4, 2022, in Nga Tin Gyi village, Khin Oo township.
Photo: Handout

Published: 9:00am, 8 Apr 2022

As international attention shifts to the Russia-Ukraine war, the Myanmar military’s campaign of attacks against its opponents has ramped up a gear, with villages in the northwest being razed to the ground amid a bid to quell anti-junta forces.

In March, soldiers destroyed more than 1,000 homes across four villages in Khin Oo Township in the Sagaing Division, where local militant groups have waged a fierce resistance effort. The military’s series of “hit-and-run” arson attacks, known by locals as “Operation Shadow”, has killed at least three civilians and 15 members of the People Defense Forces (PDFs), aid workers say.

Days after the strikes, junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing in a televised speech said his regime would be toughening its crackdown on dissident forces. Speaking at an Armed Forces Day ceremony in Naypyidaw attended by thousands of military personnel on March 27, he threatened to “annihilate” coup opponents and warned the army would not negotiate with “terrorist groups and their supporters”.

Since the military seized power in a coup 13 months ago, junta forces have set fire to more than 6,000 civilian homes, largely in areas where anti-regime resistance is fiercest.

According to independent research group Data for Myanmar, the Sagaing Division has suffered about 60 per cent of the damages from among 165 locations across the country since February 1 last year.

In one of the attacks on Sunday, some 80 armed soldiers launched an early-morning operation in Nga Tin Gyi village in Khin Oo township and set heavy artillery shells on fire. The fighting left about 250 homes destroyed and forced tens of thousands of residents to flee.

Smoke emanates from Nga Tin Gyi village on April 4, 2022, as houses are burned by military forces. Photo: Handout

Some of those who did not flee were detained and questioned about whether they knew the whereabouts of local fighters.

Myanmar junta’s ‘hit and run’ arson attacks leave cut-off villages with no source of help

Since the February 2021 coup, junta forces have set fire to more than 6,000 homes, largely in areas where anti-regime resistance is fiercest In the northeast, villages face not only military violence but struggle to receive aid and funding as they’re placed under a communications blackout

Since the February 2021 coup, junta forces have set fire to more than 6,000 homes, largely in areas where anti-regime resistance is fiercest

In the northeast, villages face not only military violence but struggle to receive aid and funding as they’re placed under a communications blackout