SAGAING DIVISION – It was reported that about 50 Pyu Saw Htee (junta-backed militia) members from Thalebar Village raided Sintalal Village (which is only a mile away from their village) on Friday (May 12), torched some houses, and took 15 local men as hostages.
At around 8 a.m. on May 12, the Pyu members on the way to Sintalal Village faced off against the resistance forces. The Pyu members then entered the village and torched some houses, stated the leader of “Mom’s Son” Local Defence Force.
“We have been keeping an eye on the Pyu members for two days but they only entered the village today. There wasn’t any exchange of fire as they entered Sintalal Village but some men were reportedly taken as hostages. We could not identify whether the detainees were our alliance force’s members on guard or just the civilians (since some non-local resistance force members have been keeping watch for us lately),” said the PDF leader.
The Pyu members left Sintalal Village, after torching some houses, and went back to Thalalbar Village at around 11 a.m.
It is the third time the Pyu Saw Htee members of Thalalbar Village have torched Sintalal Village. Pyu militants had previously torched thirty-seven houses on July 13, 2022 and fifteen houses on April 19, 2023.
Currently, the villagers went back to the village and put out the fire. The exact causalities from the fire and the updated news about the 15 men taken hostage by Pyu militants are still under investigation.