A recent attack by junta artillery in southern Myanmar resulted in the death of five individuals and the destruction of approximately 400 homes, marking the first significant act of violence in the relatively peaceful Mon state since the military coup in February 2021, as reported by residents.
The Mon State Federal Council, representing the state’s people, stated that naval vessels launched heavy weaponry at Dhamma Tha village in Kyaikmaraw township from the Gyaing River on March 27-28, claiming the lives of a 12-year-old, two women, and two others.
As fire trucks were prevented from entering the area by junta troops, more houses caught fire, destroying around a third of the village’s over 1,000 homes, according to accounts from residents.
This village, home to the leader of an ethnic Mon armed resistance group that opposed the junta since February, endured significant damage as the first community in the state affected since the military takeover.
The power grab by the Myanmar military incited a wave of resistance by various insurgent and ethnic armed groups nationwide. In response, junta forces have targeted civilians as a perceived support base for these resistance groups, resulting in numerous casualties and displacements.
Despite the fact that Nai Banyar Lel, deputy leader of the NMSP-AD, and his family were not residents of Dhamma Tha village, the junta subjected the village to an intense and brutal attack, as stated by Mi Su Ta, head of the MSFC’s Humanitarian and Relief Department.
Residents recounted how they had fled the village to avoid the conflict and returned to witness their homes, built with earnings from work in Thailand and Malaysia, reduced to ashes.
Over 10,000 individuals who lost their homes sought refuge in Mawlamyine, the capital of Mon state and Myanmar’s fourth-largest city with an approximate population of 438,000.
Suppressing ‘the revolutionary spirit’
Located near Kawt Bein village police station in Kawkareik township of neighboring Kayin state, Dhamma Tha village is closely linked to the recent capture of the station by the Karen National Liberation Army and joint revolutionary forces, as well as Ta Ra Na village where junta troops are stationed.
The military council’s retaliation against Mon resistance forces and communities like Dhamma Tha village was perceived as punishment for their active support of the seizure of the Kawt Bein police station, according to NMSP-AD spokesman Nai Banya Mon.
Local resistance groups indicated that the junta bolstered its troops near Ta Ra Na village police station to prevent its capture by resistance fighters in the area.
The military council has not issued a statement regarding the village shelling, and attempts to reach Aung Myat Kyaw Sein, Mon state’s natural resources minister and junta spokesman, for comment were unsuccessful.
Research by Data for Myanmar revealed that junta forces, along with pro-regime militias, destroyed approximately 79,000 civilian homes across Myanmar between February 2021 and December 2023.
Translated by Aung Naing for RFA Burmese. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.