A military column operating in Kyaukpadaung Township, Mandalay Region, has committed brutal killings of civilians and forced dozens to serve as human shields. According to a responsible official from the Nyaung-U District People’s Defense Force, the military council troops that departed from Ngathayauk town toward Kanphyu village in Kyaukpadaung Township on May 2 killed two civilians and forcibly took more than thirty local residents as human shields. These incidents have been confirmed through multiple local sources.
On May 4, the military troops spotted a civilian climbing a palm tree near a field hut in Kanphyu village. When they attempted to arrest him, he tried to escape, prompting the soldiers to open fire. The civilian sustained gunshot wounds to his thigh and abdomen, resulting in his death. The following day, on the morning of May 5, the troops captured Ko Aung San Win, a resident of Kanphyu village. After his capture, they tied his legs with rope, stabbed him in the abdomen with a knife, and ultimately killed him by slitting his throat in an act of extreme brutality.
The military council forces have forcibly taken more than thirty civilians from various villages including Ohin, Kyopintha, Htaukwa, Kanphyu, Kyikan, and Kutaw in the vicinity of Ngathayauk town. These civilians are being used as human shields during military operations, with the majority of those detained being male residents. Currently, the military column has withdrawn to Ngathayauk town and is reportedly reinforcing their troops with additional personnel. Local residents remain in a state of fear and anxiety, concerned about the possibility of further violence and brutality in their area. The systematic use of civilian human shields and the deliberate targeting of local residents represent serious violations of human rights and have created an atmosphere of terror in the affected communities.
