Photo Credit: Linn Linn
Mizzima
The Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) is concerned that the human rights situation will worsen in south east Myanmar as the regime continues to forcibly enlist recruits at all costs.
Civilians are feeling increasingly unsafe in Mon State, Karen State and the Tanintharyi Region because the junta army’s actions become ever more threatening, according to HURFOM which says that since the Conscription Law was enacted arbitrary arrests and forced abductions have been on the rise.
The military deployed six vehicles and a bulldozer to strategically destroy and block the road between Kan Bauk Township and Nabu Lae, just north of Dawei, in Tanintharyi Region, on 26 April.
According to HURFOM, the operation commenced around noon when the junta used the bulldozer and an excavator to sever the road, creating ditches and piling up soil to obstruct passage, near a bridge on the short Zadi to Khaung Pyan road, a crucial connection between Kan Bauk Township and Nabu Lae Village.
During their operation, junta forces arrested several locals. At approximately noon, whilst monitoring and controlling traffic, they detained seven villagers, including one from nearby Deik Ta Kaw Village. Later that day, near Thiri Mingalar school, five of these individuals were released. However, the individual from Deik Ta Kaw remained in custody, according to HURFOM.
The situation escalated further at around 2:00 pm when U Kyaw Soe, a man in his forties who owned a local computer and flower shop, was fatally shot in Zadi Village on the road between Kan Bauk Township and Nabu Lae Village. The identity of the shooter and the motive remain unclear. U Kyaw Soe’s family had previously suffered a similar tragedy when his stepfather, U Aye Han, was killed in January 2023.
Since U Kyaw Soe’s father was shot 16 months ago, five men, including U Kyaw Soe, have been shot and killed in Zadi Village. But, according to HURFOM, none of these deaths, except that of U Lala, a member of the junta-backed village administration, have been officially acknowledged by any organisation.
At 5:00 pm the junta bulldozers left and headed back to Kan Bauk.
HURFOM said that confrontations with the junta regime are leading to and increased sense of fear. It gave as an example a distressing event in Thayetchaung Village, Tanintharyi Township, where a conflict with a junta-supported militia led to the tragic death of one man and left another severely injured.
Locals reported that U Win Kyaw, a man in his forties from Thayetchaung Village, was forcefully taken by militia members under the guise of an inspection on the evening of 27 April. Sadly, when he was released the next night around 8:00 pm, he was found to be badly beaten and unconscious.
According to community sources, U Win Kyaw’s family urgently sought medical help, taking him to Maungmagan Hospital, which regrettably refused admission. In desperation, they transported him to Dawei Hospital. Despite their efforts, U Win Kyaw passed away shortly after arriving due to the severity of his injuries.
A local said: “They brought U Win Kyaw in, severely injured and unconscious. They had to rush him by motorbike in the middle of the night. Although Maungmagan Hospital turned them away, they managed to get him to Dawei Hospital, where he sadly died.
U Win Kyaw was known to have had previous mental health challenges, but the precise motives behind his brutal treatment remain unclear.
HURFOM says this incident is not isolated. Just days earlier, on 22 April, another villager, U Tun Naing, was similarly assaulted by the same militia group. As of 29 April he was continuing to receive treatment for his injuries.
Since the February 2021 coup, the militarisation of local militias in Thayetchaung Village has notably increased according to HIURFOM.
