Soldiers on military vessels bound for Bhamo Township in Kachin State entered Tokegyi village in Katha Township, ignited 34 houses and killed 8 civilians, locals said.
Soldiers aboard six vessels advancing along the upper Ayeyarwady River infiltrated Tokegyi village on September 17th, taking the lives of innocent civilians for no reason, a witness told KNG.
"As the resistance forces retreated, the soldiers raided the village, burning houses down. We discovered four deceased individuals in the village; two of them were so badly burned that we couldn't identify them, while the other two were found with gunshot and stab wounds. Near the riverbank, we witnessed three lifeless bodies with visible head injuries, brains spilling out seemingly dragged into the river, and one more body was suspected to have been thrown into the water, totaling eight bodies”, he said.
Two out of the four bodies discovered in the village have been identified as 29-year-old Ko Ye Maung Maung, a resident of Thanpayarkone new village and 37-year-old Ko Nyan Tun, a villager of Thanpayarkone old village. The remaining bodies are in a advanced state of decomposition, and have yet to be positively identified.
Prior to the soldiers' incursion into the village, local resistance forces launched mortar attacks against military vessels traveling along the river, resulting in an intense skirmish.
"We had information in advance about the enemy vessels incoming, so we waited near Tokegyi village for an ambush. Around 7:00 am they entered the area where we were waiting to strike. But they spotted us first and started shooting. Their firepower was so strong that we couldn't even lift our heads. Later we managed to counterattack, and it seemed like they suffered a lot. In the past, when their boats were intercepted, they usually continued along the river. This time, it was unusual for them to invade the village and carry out brutal killings like this. We also engaged in a fierce ground battle with them”, a resistance fighter said.
On September 18th, as the vessels proceeded upstream on the Ayeyarwady River, they additionally ignited civilian motorboats moored at the Shwegu No. 2 village jetty.In July approximately 300 soldiers aboard nine military vessels loaded with ammunition and provisions embarked on an upstream journey toward Bhamo.
These vessels were downstream in Mandalay during the last week of August and came to a halt there. About ten days later, the military vessels changed course and headed upstream toward Bhamo, according to the resistance forces.
