Radio Free Asia reported that, late on 9 May 2022, a military column from Taze Township raided Mon Taing Pin village in Ye-U Township, Sagaing. According to local residents, two PDF members guarding the village were killed in gunfire as the military entered the village. Soldiers then rounded up men from the village; detained them in the monastery; beat them; killed them and put them inside houses in the village which were set on fire.

Residents returning to the village on 12 May 2022 having fled the raid found 17 corpses in Mon Taing Pin and a further 10 dead bodies in nearby In Pin. Residents told RFA that the men killed were civilians. 30 houses were reportedly burnt.

A cache of data - reportedly found on a soldier’s cell phone in Sagaing’s Ayadaw Township several weeks after the incident and obtained by RFA - was reported to include further footage of the incident. This included images of: a number of handcuffed men in civilian clothing detained by soldiers; five bodies with hands bound in a pool of blood and soldiers standing over them; and, videos of soldiers boasting about killing dozens of people. Myanmar Witness investigated these events to verify the cache of data from the phone.

Read Myanmar Witness’ report for more information.