MEZALICHAUNG, SAGAING REGION, MYANMAR (BURMA) Video footage from the 33rd Light Infantry Division, which had previously been sanctioned by the British government, shows the brutal execution of a civilian in the Mingun area, Sagaing District, in central Myanmar. In the recording, a man with his hands tied and eyes covered is surrounded by armed soldiers. They repeatedly beat and stab him, and finally cut off his head. Afterwards, the soldiers further mutilate the body and take photos and videos of themselves celebrating his death.
The incident occurred at the end of July in the village of Mezalichaung, near the well-known Mingun Pagoda, a tourist attraction. The victim was a thirty-year-old local man named Zaw Myo, a civilian who was captured by soldiers while bathing in the river. The soldiers accused him of ties to the People’s Defense Forces (PDF), although no evidence was presented.
Four young soldiers, who had been forcibly conscripted and later defected to the resistance, provided the media with videos and testimony. They described being sent to the Mingun area as part of three military columns and being forced to participate in torture and killings. These deserters named some of the perpetrators and commanders, including Major Sithu Naing, who gave the orders.
Sagaing is a region suffering from a double tragedy – an earthquake (March 2024) and brutal military repression. Since 2022, the army has regularly carried out village burnings, airstrikes, and massacres of civilians there.
Within the same military column, other crimes were also committed: rape, killings of women, children, and the elderly. Some victims were shot, others tortured before death. Soldiers often forced detained locals to cook meals for them before later executing them.
Resistance units and the National Unity Government (NUG) claim that these brutal practices are intended to intimidate the population, but they are having the opposite effect – strengthening resistance against the junta.
