In U-Ship Pin town of Pantaung Township, Bago Region, Ward Administrator Aung Ko of Pyitawtha Ward is forcing local residents to cook meals as unpaid labor and deliver food packages to the frontline. As fighting continues on the Bago Yoma mountain range, the ward administrator is making civilians take turns cooking meals by street, claiming that military council troops are starving and need food support.
According to local residents, the military council troops on Bago Yoma are reportedly surviving only on pickled bamboo shoots and three dried fish. Using this as justification, Ward Administrator Aung Ko is systematically forcing residents to cook meals according to prepared lists and ordering them to deliver the prepared food to the administrator’s office. The administrator has implemented a rotation system where different streets take turns cooking meals under compulsion.
The ongoing battles on Bago Yoma have been intense with heavy casualties reported on the military council’s side. Remaining military council troops are experiencing low morale, with increasing numbers of soldiers fleeing or returning to rear areas without orders. Due to these military setbacks, administrators and hundred-household heads in U-Ship Pin town, along with some military supporters, are organizing food packages for the troops. Military council affiliates and gamblers are also collecting donations of bottled water, soft drinks, dried fish, fermented fish paste, betel leaves, and dried noodles for the soldiers. The forced labor and food collection efforts appear to be attempts to show civilian support for the struggling military forces, even as they continue to face significant losses and desertion on the battlefield.
