SAC Escalates Collective Punishment across the Danu Heartlands
April 2025
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Contents
1. Summary
2. Resistance movements in Ywangan and surrounding areas since the 2021 coup
3. Perpetrators of human rights violations in Ywangan and surrounding areas
4. Destruction, arson, and looting by SAC forces
5. Arbitrary arrests, torture, and killings by SAC forces (March 2023- November 2024)
6. Sexual violence by SAC troops
7. SAC airstrikes and shelling in Lawksawk and Ywangan townships
8. Testimonies from victims and witnesses of human rights violations
1. Summary
This report documents the escalation of human rights violations by State Administration Council (SAC) troops, police and local Pyusawhti militia against local villagers in Ywangan and adjoining townships of Southern Shan State and Mandalay since mid-2022. This escalation of collective punishment is clearly in direct response to the expanding influence of Danu and PDF resistance forces in these areas.
SHRF’s May 2022 update documented extrajudicial killings, torture, arbitrary arrest, looting and arson by SAC troops in five villages in Ywangan since the February 2021 coup. This latest report exposes how SAC troops have escalated these violations since May 2022 over a much wider area, including fourteen villages in Ywangan, as well as in Tharzi township of Mandalay.
The scale of arson in particular has sharply escalated in recent months. Previously, only individual houses of those suspected of resistance links had been torched, but on December 22, 2024, the entire village of Minpalaung in southwest Ywangan, totaling 170 houses, was burned down by SAC LID 55 troops as collective punishment for attacks by Danu resistance forces.
Since December 2024, the SAC has also started using airstrikes and heavy artillery against Danu resistance forces. SAC air and artillery strikes in Kyaukku, northern Lawksawk township, between December 18 and January 16, killed three villagers and injured 14, while an airstrike in Ywangan on January 31 damaged several houses.
The report also highlights the ongoing use of sexual violence by SAC troops, including gang-rape of three women by six LID 55 soldiers in May 2023, and sexual torture of a 23-year-old woman detained in Ywangan, who was later sentenced to 12 years in prison on anti-terrorism charges.
As a result of the escalating SAC abuses, especially arson attacks, there are now over 1,000 IDPs sheltering in the forested hills of Ywangan. Some have had to flee several times due to SAC operations. Despite facing severe hardship, these IDPs have received almost no humanitarian aid.
2. Resistance movements in Ywangan and surrounding areas since the 2021 coup
Ywangan is one of two townships — the other being Pindaya — which form the Danu Self- Administered Zone. Ywangan township lies on the western edge of the Shan plateau, on the border of Southern Shan State and Mandalay Region. It is easily accessible to the cities of Mandalay and Kyaukse through the Ywangan-Han Myint Mo road and to Taunggyi — where the regime’s Eastern Military Command is based — via the Ywangan-Aung Ban-Heho Road. It also connects to Northern Shan State through the Ywangan-Pindaya-Lawksawk road.
Ywangan was not formerly a conflict area, but after the February 2021 coup, the people of Ywangan, like others across the country, participated in the mass resistance movement, opposing the military takeover through non-violent means. When the regime responded with arbitrary arrests and brutal suppression, young people in Ywangan were forced to seek refuge in nearby areas controlled by ethnic armed resistance organizations, and received military training in order to resist the regime through armed means.
By mid-2021, some of the young people who had received military training from ethnic resistance organizations returned to the Ywangan area and formed People’s Defense Forces. By the end of 2021, these PDFs had begun launching sporadic guerrilla attacks in the Ywangan area against the SAC military, as well as its militias and police forces.
Faced with increasing assaults from the PDF forces, the SAC responded with brutal counterattacks. Several clashes broke out near Paeyin Taung and Nwar Bann Gyi villages between February and May 2022.
Due to the SAC offensives and targeted attacks on civilians, the original resistance forces were forced to retreat into the mountainous areas. Some went to stay temporarily in areas controlled by other ethnic resistance groups.
Despite these initial setbacks, the resistance movement in Ywangan has regrouped over the past few years, expanding in number and strength.
Currently, the following local resistance forces are operating in Ywangan and adjoining townships:
– The Danu People’s Liberation Army (DPLA)
– The Danu State National Defence Army (DSNDA),
– Two Danu PDF battalions
– The Ywangan PDF
– The Joe Phyu Urban Guerrilla Force
Resistance forces from other areas also operate in Ywangan in cooperation with the local forces, including:
– The Central Revolutionary Coalition-People’s Liberation Army (CRC-PLA)
– The Maw Bayin Column PDF
3. Perpetrators of human rights violations in Ywangan and surrounding areas
The SAC military forces operating in the Ywangan area are mostly from Light Infantry Division (LID) 55 based in Kalaw, which is mainly responsible for the human rights violations taking place in Ywangan township. In addition, LID 99, based in Meiktila, occasionally participates in joint operations in the area.
Alongside the SAC forces, the other perpetrators of human rights violations in the Ywangan area are the local Pyu Saw Htee militia, trained by the SAC.
Before 2022, there were no SAC troops stationed in Ywangan, but in March 2022, hundreds of LID 55 troops set up camp in the monastery of Paeyin Taung village, at the southern edge of Ywangan. Then in May 2022, LID 55 troops set up another camp at the high school in Nwar Bann Gyi village, north of Ywangan town.
In Kyaukku, northern Lawksawk township, the indiscriminate shelling is being carried out by Kyaukku-based SAC Artillery Battalion 349 and by IB 292 troops based at Nong Wo village, on the road linking Kyaukku and Namlan.
4. Destruction, looting and arson by SAC forces
SAC forces have burned down at least 205 houses and 7 huts in ten villages/wards across Ywangan township and adjoining areas of Tharzi township between May 2022 and December 2024.
This campaign of systematic and targeted destruction primarily focused on the houses of villagers accused of supporting the PDF forces, relatives of PDF members, and individuals or government staff participating in the nonviolent Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM).
Before May 2022, the regime had mainly targeted houses in Nwar Bann Gyi village, burning down 11 houses of those who had previously led nonviolent protests or who they suspected were associated with PDF members. Five owners of torched houses were arrested and sentenced to six years in prison on terrorism charges.
In mid-2022, the SAC’s arson campaign began spreading to other villages and surrounding areas where armed resistance forces were gaining strength.
Before setting the houses on fire, SAC troops systematically looted valuables such as gold, silver, and other possessions, vandalized household appliances, and then burned the structures. The calculated and deliberate nature of these actions is evident, as troops often returned to ensure houses were entirely reduced to ashes, setting them on fire a second time if necessary.
On May 3 and 4, 2023, clashes occurred between SAC troops and local defense forces in the jungle near the Ywangan-Thazi border in Ywangan township. Following this, on May 6, 2023, SAC troops arrived at Myat Kha Inn village, where villagers were preparing to crown a pagoda. They seized the money donated to the religious event, arrested one woman, and proceeded to burn down 15 houses in the village.
SAC troops have not limited their destruction to houses in villages but have also targeted the makeshift shelters and tents of displaced people seeking refuge in mountains and jungles. On January 7, 2024, LID 55 troops, in coordination with local militia groups, conducted operations at Pat Chaung resettlement village near the Pan Laung River. During this advance, they burned down two IDP shelters. Additionally, they slaughtered and consumed a cow belonging to a local resident.
On March 17, 2024, a column of SAC troops advanced toward Kyauk Daw and Nyaung Pin Tha villages, intending to recruit new members. However, before reaching Nyaung Pin Tha, clashes broke out between the military council troops and local resistance forces. The next day, on March 18, the SAC soldiers arrived in both Nyaung Pin Tha and Kyauk Daw villages, where they slaughtered and consumed the livestock of local villagers, destroyed shops, and looted donations from the Kyauk Daw monastery. As a result, the local population fled to nearby forests and neighboring villages along the Ywangan-Thazi border. Tragically, a pregnant woman died when giving birth in the forest during flight.
The local people whose homes were burned down no longer dared live in their villages of origin. They have been forced to seek refuge in nearby forests and mountains, facing severe hardship.
The torching of Minpalaung village
On December 21, 2024, about a hundred troops from SAC’s LID 55 advanced towards Minpalaung village, in the hills of southern Ywangan. On the way, they clashed with the local defense force, the Danu State National Defence Army (DSNDA).
After the clash, the SAC troops continued towards Minpalaung village, and on the morning of December 22, 2024, at around 10 am, set fire to the entire village, destroying approximately 170 households. On the same day, SAC fighter jets and helicopters bombed forested areas around the village, causing further destruction.
All the residents of Minpalaung, about 800 people, were forced to flee into nearby forests and villages. These villagers remain displaced until today, and are unable to return home as SAC troops remain camped in their village.
5. Arbitrary arrests, torture, and killings (March 2023-November 2024)
According to data gathered by the SHRF, out of about 300 villagers from Ywangan detained by the military regime from 2021 to 2024, over 100 remain in detention, some having been sentenced and some awaiting trial.
Regime troops and police frequently employed brutal interrogation tactics to extract information about the PDF from those arrested. We have documented five cases where torture under detention led to death or disappearance.
On March 23, 2023, SAC troops arrested nine villagers from Kyauk Gu Pyin village, accusing them of having connections to the PDF, and interrogated them at the Ywangan police station. The family of Ko Thein Htun, age 36, one of the detainees, received news of his death at Ywangan public hospital on the night of March 28. They found on his body signs of severe beatings on his face, neck, and limbs.
On June 30, 2023, SAC troops arrested U Win Maung, age 52, from Lwa Sin village, accusing him of supporting the PDF, and took him away for interrogation. The military council informed his family that he had died during interrogation on July 2 but did not return his body.
On September 29, 2023, the SAC troops arrested Ma Poe, a pregnant woman, from Paeyin Taung village and interrogated her at the Ywangan police station, causing her to suffer a miscarriage. The following day, the SAC troops released her.
On May 29, 2024, the military council troops entered Ya Nae village, arresting U Aung Win, the village administrator, and Ko Aung Kyaw Win, a local resident, accusing them of having links to the PDFs. Since their arrest, the military council troops have not formally charged or imprisoned either of them, and they have disappeared without a trace.
On November 22, 2023, SAC troops arrived on motorbikes at a lumber mill in the forest near Myat Kha Inn village. They arrested Daw Thin Thin, a resident of Than Taw village, Thazi township, Mandalay Region, along with four men working in the lumber business in Ywangan township. They were taken to the interrogation center of LID 99 in Meiktila Township. Daw Thin Thin passed away on November 24, 2023, while in detention.
6. Sexual violence by SAC troops
SHRF has documented two incidents of sexual violence by SAC troops against women in Ywangan and Thazi townships in 2023.
On May 3 and 4, 2023, following clashes between SAC LID 55 troops, which had advanced into the jungle along the Ywangan-Thazi border from Ywangan township, and local defense forces, the SAC troops entered Myat Kha Inn village on May 6. Before reaching the village in the early morning, SAC troops gang-raped three young women from the village who were fleeing the conflict in the forest. After the military regime left the area, villagers found the women in the forest, crying. Near the village, villagers discovered the women’s undergarments, and one of the victims later told her family that six SAC troops had sexually assaulted them.
In late 2023, Ma “Moe Moe” (not her real name), a young woman who was assisting displaced people from Ywangan, was arrested by SAC LID 55 troops at her home. She was taken to the Ywangan Police Station, where she was subjected to beatings and torture by military personnel. According to a fellow detainee who was later released, the SAC troops lashed her breasts with a leather belt and inserted a baton into Ma Moe Moe’s vagina. She has since been sentenced to 12 years in prison under Section 52 (a) of the Anti-Terrorism law.
It was also learned that Ywangan Police Station denied permission to some of the detained women to purchase feminine hygiene products if they were deemed to be uncooperative.
7. SAC airstrikes and shelling in Lawksawk and Ywangan townships
Fighting broke out between SAC troops and the Danu People’s Liberation Army (DPLA) around Kyaukku and Ingtaw villages, Lawksawk township in November 2024. The DPLA had been helping the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Mandalay PDF troops fight against SAC troops in Taungkham, southern Nawngkhio township, and had launched attacks on SAC outposts in northern Lawksawk township, along the main road linking to Taungkham.
On December 18, 2024, at noon, there was a SAC airstrike on Kyaukku village, which damaged the Kyaukku bridge on the main road to Taungkham and Nawngkhio.
On January 4, 2025, heavy fighting broke out at Taung Teik village, south of Kyaukku. After that, SAC troops at the Artillery Battalion 349 base indiscriminately shelled into Ingtaw village, damaging some houses.
Between January 6 and 16, 2025, there were several clashes between SAC and DPLA troops at Kyaukku and Khae Kya villages. One villager from Kyaukku village was injured and two houses damaged by indiscriminate SAC shelling on January 15.
On January 16, from 12:37 pm to 1:20 pm, SAC aircraft dropped 31 bombs, and then at 4 pm dropped another 25 bombs. The airstrike killed 3 villagers, injured 13 and damaged 8 houses in Kyaukku village.
On January 31, there was a bomb strike by SAC aircraft and two bomb strikes by LID 99 drones around the Pat Chaung resettlement village in the western Ywangan hills, damaging three houses. Pat Chaung is the resettlement site for villagers submerged by the reservoir of the Kinda hydropower project, commissioned in 1985.
8. Testimonies from victims/witnesses of human rights violations
(a) Arson
Testimony of victim: Male, age 34 years old
Location of arson: Lwa Sin village, Nam Khone
village tract, Ywangan township
Date of arson: August 2023
The news of me joining the People’s Defense Force (PDF) was leaked, which led to the retaliation. It happened in August 2023, around 9 pm. A joint force of about 60 personnel from Division 55 and Pyu Saw Htee arrived. While 50 stayed at the village entrance, ten came to my house. Before they entered my compound, they opened fire in the yard. Then they set my two-storey house on fire. Luckily, I wasn’t at home, and if I had been, I wouldn’t be alive today.
(b) Arson
Testimony of victim: Male, age 34 years old
Location of arson: Lwa Sin village, Nam Khine
village tract, Ywangan township
Date of arson: September 2023
My two-storey house was destroyed and burnt down in September 2023. I can’t recall the exact date, but it happened around 11 am. It seems someone informed them that I had joined the People’s Defense Force (PDF). Troops from Division 55, along with members of the Pyu Saw Htee militia, came to the village and torched my house. They often come to our village, and before this incident, they had already burned down several other houses in the village.
(c) Arson and theft of livestock
Testimony of witness: Male villager
Location of arson: Patchaung resettlement village, nr. Pan Laung river, west of Ywangan
Date of arson: Jan 7, 2024
On January 7, 2024, SAC troops advanced into our area. The reason for their intrusion was because, in a previous incident, they had seized some of our boats and canoes, and in response, the local resistance group (PDF) burned down their (SAC) post and returned the canoes back to us. LID 55 troops from Thae Phyu Chaung, and the SAC-backed Pyu Saw Htee militia made up the SAC joint force that entered our area. There were no clashes between the SAC troops and the PDFs at the time, yet they burned down two huts of IDPs who were surviving as fishermen.
The following day, the troops also slaughtered and ate two cows belonging to U K– from Nga Thi Di Kyun village. One of these cows was pregnant, so U K– lost three cows in total. The financial loss for U K– amounted to around 1.5 million MMK. U K– and the fishermen who lost their huts are merely small-scale charcoal burners and fishermen. They have no connection to the PDFs, let alone support them. They are struggling to make ends meet. These were just ordinary people who were victimized by the regime.
(d) Property destruction and looting
Testimony of victim: Male villager, age 37
Location of abuse: Kyauk Daw & Naung Pin Tha
villages
Date of abuse: 17 March 2024
On March 17, 2024, a SAC military platoon entered our village to carry out military recruitment. The platoon was composed of Division 55, LIB 420 (under LID 99), and the Pyu Saw Htee group. They requested 20 men from Kyauk Daw and Nyaung Pin Tha villages. When the platoon reached the eastern part of Nyaung Pin Tha, which falls under Ya Nae village tract, they clashed with the local PDF. As a result, the villagers from Kyauk Daw and Nyaung Pin Tha had to flee. Some fled to Pho Tha Naing village in Thazi township, while others sought refuge at Sa Kyat Ma monastery near Thetkae Date village, also in Thazi township. Most of the villagers from Nyaung Pin Tha fled to those two locations, with around 120 people, including myself, fleeing to Pho Tha Naing village. But most villagers from Kyauk Daw fled into the forest.
The joint regime troops entered Nyaung Pin Tha village and took everything, including rice, oil, and other supplies. They killed and ate chickens, ducks, and pigs. When they arrived in Kyauk Daw, they searched through everything, even taking the offerings and donation money from the Kyauk Daw monastery. The boot prints of the soldiers were everywhere in the monastery, showing that they did not even remove their shoes or boots. They also destroyed a market store at the center of the village, resulting in a loss of around 2.5 million MMK. A pregnant woman in Kyauk Daw village, who had fled to the forest, died during childbirth, along with her baby, due to the difficulty of giving birth in such conditions. To this day, the villagers remain fearful that the SAC regime will return. We cannot even sleep at night, and some villagers still dare not return to the village.
(e) Sexual violence
Testimony of witness: Female detainee, age 42
Location of abuse: Ywangan police station
Date of abuse: late 2023
I was arrested and put into a cell in the police station. Ma Moe Moe (not her real name) was arrested after me, and put in the same cell as me.
The day Ma Moe Moe was arrested, she had clearly been roughed up. She was arrested on the street and had been beaten. Her shirt had been torn. The next day, they came to call her for interrogation. Not only the police, but also people in soldiers’ uniform.
For the first three days, she returned to jail as normal. Then on the fourth day, it was quite late at night when they brought her back. She was crying. She showed me her chest when I asked what had happened to her. There were red welts on her breasts. They had taken off her upper garments and lashed her breasts with a leather belt for not answering their questions, she said. She had also been slapped. They told her that if she kept refusing to answer, they would send her to the military camp for interrogation.
On the fifth day she was taken out at noon. She was so weak when they brought her back. They told her they would move her to another place the next morning. She was crying when she told me what had happened to her that day. She had been beaten, tied up and a baton had been inserted in her vagina. They said that they would rape her if she continued refusing to answer them.
That night, she was bleeding badly from her vagina, and her sarong was stained with blood. The next day, she was taken to another place, and I don’t know what happened to her. I was charged and jailed for a year and a half, but was released before serving my full sentence.
