22Brutal killings of two women in two different regions by junta forces dominated the news cycle today, showing that the murderous military council and its supporters will continue to do whatever they want by waving their weapons with no remorse for anyone else except their own. DVB News reported the killing of Daw Yee Yee Cho, the wife of Maubin-based journalist on November 18 in Mon State’s Thanbyuzayat Township whose life was violently taken just for refusing to be stopped at a security checkpoint. Myanmar Now published a detailed account of the brutal murder of Daw Sandar Win, a fundraiser for Magway Region’s Pauk Township’s Defense Force by members of junta’s police forces and junta-affiliated militia, Pyu Saw Htee on September 14.
These killings are unnecessary and just plain vile acts by Min Aung Hlaing-led regime soldiers and supporters. Ayeyarwady Region’s Maubin native Daw Yee Yee Cho was visiting her family in Mon State when she was shot to death in her own car for not stopping at the Thanbyuzayat Township’s security checkpoint. Junta’s soldiers reportedly fired three shots at her car and she was hit in her waist, and she was reported to have died from the injury on the scene, a resident told DVB News. Another brutal killing reported today occurred two months ago on September 14, and the murder of Daw Sandar Win was admitted by a member of Pyu Saw Htee that was interrogated by the local PDFs. Myanmar Now has reviewed all five videos of the interrogation provided by the PDF.
Around midnight on September 14, a 42-year-old Daw Sandar Win was taken from her house by a group of armed men under the junta forces. She wasn’t handcuffed or tied up when she was taken for questioning so her husband believed that she would return home the next day, but that happened to be the last time he saw her, according to villagers who learned from the husband. A few hours after the 42-year-old fundraiser was taken, the villagers reported to have heard a single gunshot but they just ignored it as the usual arbitrary shooting by the junta forces. In the morning, the husband informed other family members and villagers to look for his wife, and around 9am, a group of villagers discovered the disfigured body of Daw Sandar Win, from the rain and trauma, faced down in a creek near the village. The details of the murder are graphic so we are adding a trigger warning for anyone who wish to skip over the next paragraph.
TW: graphic violence The villagers said she had a gunshot wound in the back of her head and her head was disfigured with brain matters reportedly scattered around her dead body, and some of her teeth and eyes were also disfigured. The young Pyu Saw Htee member that was captured by the local PDFs in mid of October confessed on the interrogation video that a total of 20 members of the junta forces—Police Chief of Kaing Le village, two policemen and 17 Pyu Saw Htee members, were involved in the murder. He also admitted that Daw Sandar Win was brutally tortured and her breasts were sliced with a knife before shooting her in the head. He also mentioned that they had taken about 18 million MMK in cash and her personal jewelry, which was shared among the killers. A member of Pauk-PDF told Myanmar Now that her case was the most tragic incident and a great loss for the community. The victim was survived by her husband and three young children.
Magway Region seemed to be taking hit after hit in recent months. One Saw-PDF member told RFA Burmese that the clashes have been ongoing for the past five days in Saw Township, but the last two days were the most extreme with the military deploying more airstrikes in the regions, causing thousands of residents to flee en masse. A spokesperson of Saw-PDF who spoke to DVB News said that more than 20 junta soldiers were killed during the November 19 morning clashes. Not just Magway Region, the neighboring region in central Myanmar, residents of Sagaing Region were also reported to be internally displaced due to the junta’s clearance operation. In Kani Township, the clashes between the military and the PDFs caused over 5,000 residents of five villages to be sheltering in nearby monasteries or the jungle due to escalating raids and landmines planted by the junta forces.
Speaking of raids, Rakhine State’s news agency, Western News, updated via its Facebook page that junta’s special forces were attempting to find the office of the news agency by searching some of the wards in Sittwe on November 19. The news agency believed that they were being investigated for reporting on the fallen eight cadets of the Arakan Army, and on the human rights violations committed by junta troops in Rakhine State, Western News’ Editor-in-Chief wrote. In other ethnic development, Karen National Union reported on November 19 that KNU troops and Border Guard Forces (BGF) clashed in Karen State’s Hpa-an Township around 1am on November 17, killing about 10 members of BGF and injuring five. In nearby state, mass arrests continued on with about 40 civilians from Mon State’s Kyaikhto arrested under the suspicion of being PDF members between November 14 & 20, residents told DVB News.
Most areas of the country suffered power outage this evening around 7.30pm to 9pm, of which junta’s forces took advantage and arrested many people in the dark in Yangon, Khit Thit Media reported. Four youths were abducted during a raid of Royal Thuka Condo in Hlaing Township. Another four in Alone Township also met with the same fate as people in the neighborhood banged pots and pans during the outage to express their distress. Regime forces arrived at the location immediately, kicking down the door at one of those houses. They reportedly inspected the phones and arrested four youths. A similar raid also took place in North Dagon according to netizens. An unverified directive circulating on the social media says that two-hour blackout is to be imposed in every state and regions due to lower supply for at least a month starting November 19. However, those who pay regular bill to the murderous junta will be provided full time electricity.
We are just a week shy from reaching 300 days under military rule, and you would think protests would die down more as armed resistance efforts rise up. Sagaing Region continued to surprise and inspire all of us by showing that they are willing to march the streets under the sky filled with military aircrafts to show defiance against the vile military council. Protest column in Kalay Township celebrated its 286th day of marching the street today and protesters in Salingyi and Yinmabin townships took to the streets in scorching sun to object being enslaved by the military.
