A human rights report details a series of alleged atrocities committed by Myanmar junta troops during recent military operations in Kyaukme Township, northern Shan State.
The update from the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) documents both extrajudicial killings and sexual violence, alongside a grim chronology of airstrikes and artillery bombardments targeting civilian areas throughout September.
According to the report, on September 24th, regime troops killed four civilians who were sheltering in farm huts approximately 10 kilometers from Kyaukme town. The victims included a 16-year-old girl who was also raped. The soldiers were part of a large-scale operation to retake the area from the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, which has displaced over 10,000 villagers since August.
The incident began when a patrol of about 100 soldiers encountered a villager, interrogated and beat him. When he tried to escape, two soldiers pursued him to a nearby hut where they encountered a monk. The monk was shot and killed as he attempted to flee.
The soldiers then ordered a village leader to summon others from the area. When they arrived at a farm hut, three people inside were unable to escape: a mother, her 16-year-old daughter, and her 12-year-old son.
Evidence gathered at the scene indicates the soldiers were responsible for the subsequent killings. The 16-year-old was found naked and dead inside the hut with visible injuries; her discarded clothes were nearby, and military uniform items and a weapon were left beside her body. It is believed her mother was shot dead while pleading for her daughter’s life. The young boy was also killed, suffering gunshot wounds to his stomach and head.
The father, who discovered the bodies the next morning, testified: “I saw my wife lying on the ground with a bullet wound in her chest, and my son lying next to her, covered in blood. My daughter’s clothes were on the ground, and her body was naked inside the hut. She had been raped and killed.”
The report also provides a detailed list of airstrikes and shelling throughout Kyaukme Township between September 8th and 29th. The account includes multiple instances of jet fighters dropping bombs on villages, artillery barrages targeting residential areas, and drone attacks, resulting in damaged homes, religious buildings, and civilian casualties.
