At least six burned bodies found in Magway region village

Two days of fighting between junta troops and People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) in Magway region’s Myaing township ended with the grisly discovery of charred bodies scattered across a village.

Locals told RFA that at least six burned corpses were found in the remains of Sue Win village on Friday. They said they believed there were more victims as the body parts had been scattered. The corpses were so badly burned they could not be identified. 

“There were more than six bodies,” said a local, who declined to be named for safety reasons. “They were not burned in one place. There were many bodies. They were found in four places.” 

Battles between junta forces and local militia groups began on Friday and continued the next day. Locals told RFA they believed the military council had burned the bodies along with four houses and they think the dead are a mixture of locals and PDF members.  However, since the bodies have not yet been identified, it is not yet known if junta forces were among the dead. Some of the bodies were wearing bulletproof vests and army boots, with scarves tied around their necks in the military style indicating the military was trying to cover up its own casualties. Local junta Capt. Soe Win is believed to be among the dead.

“The bodies were brought here in a vehicle,” said a local PDF member. “There were more than seven or eight bodies including those killed in the fighting on the way to our village.”

The military council has not released any information on the discovery of the bodies and calls to a spokesman by RFA on Monday went unanswered.

Ongoing battles between junta troops and the PDFs have left thousands homeless in Myanmar’s second largest region. On June 15 troops torched more than 3,000 houses in one township.

Locals in Myaing township say residents of more than ten villages in the area have fled from the military council’s scorched-earth operations.Figures from Data for Myanmar show that 22 people had been killed in Magway between February last year and the end of April 2022 but more up to date figures are not available. D4M also reported last month that troops had torched more than 3,000 houses in Magway in the first 16 months following the coup.