On the night of June 24, the view of houses in Hakha city that were set on fire by the military council troops (Photo-The Chin Journal)
Mizzima
Junta soldiers set fire to houses in retaliation for an attack on a junta outpost in Htar Ward, Hakha Township, Chin State on 24 June.
At around 10:00 pm fighters from Chin defence forces attacked the guard post in Htar Ward. The confrontation involved sporadic gunfire. When the gunfire escalated at about midnight the junta soldiers started setting fire to homes in the area of the guard post.
Residents managed to extinguish fires in seven houses, but three houses were burnt to ashes.
A Hakha resident said: “Following the clash at the guard post, soldiers from the Military Council set fire to ten houses in Htar Ward. Some houses were burned down with people still inside. But the people escaped from the fire. After the soldiers left, the residents managed to extinguish the fires in some of the houses. Three burnt down.”
A man living in Htar Ward was hit in the chest by artillery shrapnel fired by Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) (266), stationed at the nearby Yone Mountain Hill Camp. Local sources said he had been taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The junta has not released any information about the arson.
On 25 June junta soldiers increased their patrols around Hakha, frightening many residents.
