Myanmar infantrymen fireplace mortars, torch 100 homes in Sagaing

SAGAING, Myanmar – According to various sources, the Myanmar army fired artillery shells and then attacked Ke Bar village in Sagaing Region’s Ayadaw Township earlier this week, setting fire to more than 100 homes.

The raid on the 500-household neighborhood 14 kilometers southeast of Ayadaw town began around 9 a.m., Monday according to a witness who spoke to the press on the condition of anonymity.

“Around 100 houses were lost in the fire,” the villager said on Tuesday. “The fire didn’t spread from one house to another. The soldiers purposely torched each house. The villagers tried to put out the fires once they left. Some houses are still burning, and the villagers are still trying to put the fires out.”

The junta troops are allegedly said to have demolished a school and kidnapped two local men in their forties.

After thinking that PDF members were present in the vicinity, Myanmar army forces set fire to at least 10 motorbikes parked outside the school, according to Moe Gyo, who is from Ke Bar and heads a locally organized branch of the anti-junta People’s Defence Force (PDF).