On the night of 31 July, Burma army soldiers arrested four local people from Lwa Sin village and Pae Ying Tawng village under accusations that they are affiliated with the Danu People’s Liberation Front (DPLF/DPLA).

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Lwa Sin and Pae Ying Tawng villages are located in Ywangan Township of Taunggyi District in Shan State, which is located in the Danu Self-administered Region.

The soldiers set fire to the four houses where they made arrests on the night of the 31 July.

“Burma army and Pyusawhtee People’s Militia Force (Pyusawhtee PMF) soldiers arrived in a car and five or six motorcycles. All of them were carrying guns. They arrested two people from Lwa Sin village. After arresting them, the Burma army soldiers destroyed their property and burned their houses. I heard that the soldiers were trying to arrest the father, but since he was not there they arrested his son instead,” a local man, who requested anonymity for security reasons, told SHAN.

According to local people, the two men arrested from Lwa Sin village were Ko Myint Oo and Ko Win Thein, both aged 30. Ko Win Thein was arrested in place of his father U Ba Wai, who was the original target of the soldiers but could not be found at the residence. It is common practice for Burma army soldiers to arrest family members if they are unable to find their original targets during house raids.

The Burma army soldiers also set fire to the houses of the two people they arrested in Pae Ying Tawng village.

“As far as we know, they arrested two people from Pae Ying Tawng village. The two men were accused of affiliation with the DPLF/DPLA. Before the arrests, the soldiers interrogated the two men in their houses. These two men are local villagers and are just normal citizens, they are not connected to any revolutionary movements,” a local 30-year-old women, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons, told SHAN.

She said that the Burma army arrested U Tin Oo and another man from Pae Ying Tawng village. After they arrested U Tin Oo, the soldiers ordered his family members to leave their house and then the soldiers set the house on fire.

Local people said that the DPLF/DPLA released a statement on 29 July about their formation. After the release of this statement, Burma army soldiers started to arrest local people in Ywangan Township, which is located in the Danu Self-administered Region.

In April 2022, the Burma army launched an air raid on Pae Ying Tawng village which killed nine villagers. At that time, the Burma army accused them of being affiliated with the People’s Defense Force.