21 August 2023

Disclaimer: The following is a brief summary of the top 3 stories on the Myanmar Witness radar that day for daily reactive investigations. Information is subject to change as the stories develop. The briefing is a work in progress and should be seen as a starting point for further work, research, and potential collaboration. It is by no means exhaustive and incidents where the verification work of Myanmar Witness could be useful are prioritised over other potentially more important stories.

1) Village burns in Kale

Summary

Khit Thit Media reported that as of 21 August, the village of Thar Si has been burned by SAC troops for the sixth consecutive day, causing ash dust to blow up to Kale town. The burning of civilian infrastructure comes after a series of airstrikes which hit the village on 15 August, following clashes between SAC and PDF forces in the area. It is alleged that many civilians have fled the village, while others are sheltering in a nearby monastery.

Location
Thar Si (သာစည်), Kale township, Sagaing [23.156830, 94.047684]

Reported date: 15 – 21 August 2023

Source

Khit Thit Media
https://www.facebook.com/khitthitnews/posts/pfbid02jEZyuqr75kysmsTMWQQEeFCPp69F6A6iDJPxPiXNug4ckGwE7haQLXDRZkNtPrZNl (OS4631)

FIRMS LINK:
https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#t:adv;d:2023-08-17;@94.1,23.2,14z

2) Houses burned, civilians arrested in Myaing

Summary

It is reported that on 20 August, SAC forces entered the village of Shwe Lin Swea (ရွှေလင်းစွဲ) and looted food and valuables belonging to the residents. Khit Thit Media have claimed that following this incident, the troops entered the neighbouring village of Let Htoke Taw (လက်ထုတ်တော) and burned down several houses. It is alleged that more than 30 civilians from both villages were arrested and detained by the soldiers.

Locations

Shwe Lin Swea (ရွှေလင်းစွဲ), Myaing, Magway [94.94168091, 21.70763016]

Let Htoke Taw (လက်ထုတ်တော), Myaing, Magway [94.92434692, 21.70145988]

Reported date
20 August 2023

Sources

Khit Thit Media
https://www.facebook.com/khitthitnews/posts/pfbid0piUtAGRJqaPQzKrpUqoBV6gkpA7zpCpYviEFTTHbAPdwNPWBFPnoa3YzNwhMUFGFl

Notes
Geolocatable footage limited; monitor FIRMS/sentinel for updates.

3) Civilian death following artillery strike in Palaw

Summary

It is reported that on 19 August, a 72-year-old woman died following an attack on the village of Let Ku (လက္ကူး). Khit Thit Media have alleged that SAC forces fired two artillery shells on the village. This incident comes amidst a series of attacks on villages in Palaw, which has resulted in a number of civilian injuries.

Location
Let Ku (လက္ကူး), Palaw township, Tanintharyi [12.91687012, 98.63773346]

Reported date
19 August 2023

Sources

The Tanintharyi Times
https://www.facebook.com/TheTanintharyiTimes/posts/pfbid02jikE7ND4SaqLwRvEbQRiK1nxK7qUKNWgtwKN8gJMJ636gg183SUN2T2nv2HJSpAXl

Khit Thit Media
https://www.facebook.com/khitthitnews/posts/pfbid0jhKwbxJ9oY33bpD5XTXV8CMd9YXjnsSCre5n7QjNoGmzxiDUkponegC2j27bwLAJl

Notes
No geolocatable footage found.