Myanmar junta troops burn down Kawlin town

Myanmar junta troops burned down 80 percent of Kawlin town, which is located on the border of Sagaing Region and Kachin State, after retaking it from resistance forces two weeks ago, residents said.

Ethnic armies and People’s Defense Force groups (PDFs) under the civilian National Unity Government (NUG) seized the district-level town on November 6 last year after attacking it for several days. The regime retook Kawlin on February 12 after targeting it in a major offensive.

All eight wards in the town have been subjected to arson attacks, and junta troops have also torched at least 10 villages on the outskirts, according to Kawlin-based PDFs.

A photo taken from a drone shows that almost all of the homes in the town have been burned down.

“There was no fighting today. Junta troops have been torching the Inn Boke Kone logging site since 5 a.m.,” a member of the Kawlin Revolution group said.

Junta troops have been deployed on multi-story buildings since retaking the town, and are destroying any structures that obscure their view.

Around 25,000 residents of Kawlin’s urban wards and some 25 villages have been displaced by the fighting.

Clashes continue near Kyauktan Village on the outskirts of the town, disrupting transportation along the Mandalay-Shwebo road. Vehicles are also trapped on the Myitkyina-Indaw-Kyauktan road, which has been blocked since February 23.

(With inputs from The Irrawaddy)