Local residents and revolutionary forces report that the military has raided Gway Pin Gyi and Gway Pin Lay villages in Chauk Township, Magway Region, burning houses and looting civilian property including gold and jewelry. On March 9 at around 7 AM, approximately 80 military troops entered the villages firing heavy weapons and small arms, forcing residents to flee their homes. The military burned down two civilian houses and looted valuable jewelry and other possessions from homes in the villages.
According to Ko Kyaw Htike, commander of Special Operations Unit 2 of the Magway District People’s Defense Force, the military troops advanced from Kywe Tat village through Kan Ni monastery and across farmland. They captured seven civilian farmworkers along the way and used them as human shields, which prevented resistance forces from launching counterattacks to protect civilian lives. The military first attacked the villages using 60mm artillery and drones before advancing with small arms fire. The looted items included jewelry worth approximately 45 million kyats, 5 viss of dried meat prepared as donations for Buddhist monks, and clothing.
Gway Pin Gyi village has 237 households while Gway Pin Lay village has 217 households. Thousands of residents from these two villages and four nearby villages have been forced to flee. After reaching safety, the military threatened and released the seven captured civilians they had used as human shields. The troops fired 15 shots near Oozar Taw village at the Min Taung intersection before departing toward Kyaukpadaung. The military’s actions demonstrate their continued pattern of violence against civilians, including the destruction of homes, looting of property, and use of human shields in their operations against resistance forces protecting local communities.
