Myaing villagers flee junta forces in early July (Supplied)

Resistances forces in Magway’s Myaing Township say they saw the truck pulling seven men with ropes tied around their necks

By Myanmar Now

At least four villagers are believed to have died after being dragged by a military truck in Magway Region’s Myaing Township on Sunday, according to local resistance forces.

Lat Yar, a commander of the Myaing People’s Defence Force (PDF), said that members of his group saw seven men with ropes tied around their necks being pulled behind the truck.

“I heard that three of them were young and able to keep up with the truck, but the other four couldn’t run fast enough, fell on their faces, and died,” he said.

He added that the group had no photographs of the scene because it was witnessed from a distance through binoculars.

“We couldn’t take pictures, but we saw that the military had tied the villagers by their necks to the back of the truck and pulled them along, forcing them to try to keep up,” he said.

The victims were from two villages located near Myaing’s border with Pauk Township. Five, including three elderly men and a 16-year-old boy, were from Kabar Phyu, while the other two were from the neighbouring village of Taung Yoe.

The military column of around 80 junta troops that tortured the villagers also torched a number of homes and at least 30 motorcycles in Kabar Phyu, local sources said.

The Myaing PDF claimed that the military burned the bodies of the four men who died after being dragged, but Myanmar Now was unable to confirm this information.

Last Friday, the group said that it had found the bodies of six civilians who killed by regime forces in the village of Su Win. Junta troops have also been accused of setting fire to hand-dug oil wells in the area.

Junta raids have displaced thousands of people from more than a dozen villages in Myaing Township since July 2, according to local sources.

Burmese version.

Original Post: Myanmar Now