Photo: A house still burning after torched by SAC troops (Photo from Zalen)

Kur Bung Bel

The military junta has been in an operation for more than 10 days since the end of September with a large full force, which invaded Seken village, Sagaing Division, southwest of Kalay City, with about 900 houses. On the 4th October 2023, the Myanmar military junta started burning the houses and destroyed almost the entire village. It is known from the residents of Sekan that one grandson and one grandmother of Sekan locality were killed by the military junta and four local residents were also missing.

The two people (one grandson and one grandmother) who were killed by the military junta are Daw Ngun Nei Hnem (67 years old) and Salai Van Bawi Lian (14 years old). CNO Upper Chindwin Region (UCR) stated that the killed bodies were also burned and the motorcycle they were riding was burned by the military junta troop. According to the local residents of Sekan they were killed by the military junta troop in their house and their bodies were burned while the military junta raided Sekan village and set fire to the houses, they visited the pets left in the house for their concern for the pets.     

The Myanmar military junta troop initially camped in the school at the top of Sekan village. A resident of Sekan village told ICA (Institute of Chin Affairs) that they gradually raided the village and camped in the Christian Baptist Church. 

As the military junta troops were also firing heavy weapons from Taung Phi La mountain near Sekan village, no one dared to return to the village, so it is believed that the number of houses that were burnt down is more than 150/200 houses. According to the locals, it is still difficult to know precisely because no one dared to go near the village. 

As a result of the arson and the operation of the military junta, 3,500 people from the neighboring villages of Sekan such as In Daing Kung village, Myaung Kyung village, Sa Taw village, Sen Taw village and Ci Cai village have not been able to return home, and they are facing war disasters because they are fleeing from the war, according to a person who is helping those who are fleeing from the war. It is known from the source that most of the people fleeing the war entered the Tahan neighborhood of Kalay City. The villages near Tahan are also full of war displaced people, and the exact number of those fleeing the war is still unknown, according to charity organizations that help and care for people avoiding the war.