In U-Ship Pin City of Pantaung Township, Bago Region, Ward Administrator Aung Ko of Pyitawtha Ward is forcing local residents to cook meals as unpaid labor and deliver them to the frontline battlefield. As the military council troops are reportedly starving during the ongoing battles on the Bago Yoma mountain range, the ward administrator is compelling residents to cook meals on a rotating basis by street and send them to the military.
The ward administrator is forcing civilians to cook meals under the pretext that military troops on the Bago Yoma range only have preserved gourd and three dried fish to eat. Currently, residents of Pyitawtha Ward are being made to take turns cooking meals daily according to the administrator’s orders and must deliver the prepared food to the administrator’s office, according to local sources. The administrator claims he feels sorry for the troops who are surviving only on minimal rations.
The ongoing battles on the Bago Yoma range are extremely intense with high casualties on the military council’s side. The remaining military council troops are reportedly suffering from low morale, with many deserting or returning to the rear without orders. Due to these heavy losses, administrators, hundred-household heads and civilians in U-Ship Pin City are being forced to arrange supplies for the military. Additionally, military-affiliated gambling operators and gamblers are collecting donations for the soldiers including bottled water, soft drinks, dried fish, fermented fish paste, betel leaves, and dried noodles. The military council is attempting to portray these forced contributions as voluntary support from civilians, while in reality the local people are being coerced to provide supplies against their will.
