Mizzima
The Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) has documented incidents that happened during April 2024 in Tanintharyi Region.
During April 2024 10 people were killed, 25 were injured and more than 14,000 were newly displaced in Tanintharyi Region.
Below are details of some of the incidents HURFOM recorded:
In Phaung Taw Village in Yebyu Township, junta soldiers and local administration members arrested a father and son at their home on the night of 18 April. U Win Bo and his son, Ko Ye Thwe Naung, were taken into custody. The junta-backed Navy Personnel carried out the arrests, but the specific reasons for their detention remain unclear.
During the arrest, all mobile phones in their residence were confiscated. This incident follows a prior event in February this year, when three villagers, including the former village administrator, were detained by the Junta’s Mawrawaddy Navy, based in western Yebyu Township. Of those arrested in February, only the former administrator has been released, while the other two remain in custody. The community is still seeking clarity on the motivations behind these arrests.
Due to escalating military operations by the junta forces, significant conflict incidents have led to widespread displacement in Thayet Chaung Township in Dawei. Local villagers from Sin Ku, Bote Kai, Kywe Zart, Sin Kyan, Laba, Pi-Tai, Pyin Phyu Gyi, and Pyi Phyu Thar, totalling approximately 2,000 households, have been forced to flee the instability in their areas.
These cases of forced displacement have surged in response to the junta’s aggressive tactics, including a recent incident on 22April, where soldiers arrived in Sin Ku Village by vehicle and proceeded to torch several homes, causing fires that spread to neighbouring houses.
In addition to the direct attacks, there have been ongoing encroachments along the Dawei to Myeik highway road, affecting the previously mentioned villages and extending toward Pyin Phyu Gyi and Chauk Char villages with a force of about 30 Junta soldiers. On 23 April, at around 2:00 pm, there were nearly two hours of gunfire between junta troops and local revolutionary forces in the area between Sin Kyan and Kywe Zart villages.
This heightened military presence and the frequent clashes along the Dawei to Myeik highway have led to road closures lasting hours each time a skirmish occurs. The situation has prompted an exodus from eight villages, severely affecting the locals.
“A lot of IDPs are arriving. They flee with what little they can carry, often arriving without any food supplies. We feed them whatever we have”, said a woman who spoke to HURFOM.
A student from Sin Ku Village involved in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) reported, “The village is deserted; everyone has fled because of the junta’s troops.”
As of 22 April, the region, particularly the eastern part of Thayet Chaung, Dawei District, continues to experience intense battles between the military junta and revolutionary forces, exacerbating the challenges faced by internally displaced persons who struggle with acute shortages of food and secure shelter.
The Mawrawaddy Navy, operated by the military in western Yebyu Township, Dawei, has been launching indiscriminately firing artillery from their warship stationed on the upper reaches of the Zadee River near Zadee village. This reckless shelling has been ongoing, causing significant distress among the local farm workers, who have been compelled to abandon their farmlands and flee for safety.
From 19 to 24 April the area experienced a brief period of calm each morning, but the Junta Navy subsequently fired at least nine artillery mortar shells daily. A resident from Zadee village Yebyu reported that the continuous bombardment was directly impacting their farmland, with shells exploding on impact.
The fallout from these artillery attacks has been immediate and poses a lingering danger. Unexploded ordnance has been found in the farms and surrounding villages, including Zadee, Htot Wa, Diek Ta Kaw, and Kyauk Hta Yan, endangering lives even after the shelling ceases.
Additionally, the violence has driven gardeners and other workers from areas around Kyat Mouk Taw Monastery and Phyu Net to flee. This incident marks the first instance of such sustained and indiscriminate artillery firing by a warship in this region.
Local sources have also reported that as of 22 April, the military Junta has extended its presence to the western bank of the Yebyu River area, intensifying the tension and fear among the local population.
On 25 April, an elderly woman was tragically killed in Long Lone, Western Dawei when junta troops stationed in the area launched an attack. Soldiers from the Office of the Chief of Military Security Affairs in Long Lone fired approximately five artillery mortar shells.
There was no ongoing combat at the time.
The victim, 75-year-old Daw Khin Aye, was fatally struck by shrapnel from an artillery shell that landed in the courtyard of her home. In the same incident, the explosion injured another older man nearby.
Over the past three months, artillery strikes in Tanintharyi have resulted in injuries to more than 37 civilians and the deaths of at least five individuals.
