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Shot from the destroyed village of Kin Ma
Photo: HANDOUT / AFP
According to eyewitnesses, at least two people died in retaliation by the military in Myanmar.
Soldiers set fire to the village of Kin Ma in the central Magway region of Myanmar.
Previously there had been fighting between so-called civil defense groups and the army.
After the coup in early February, residents in many parts of the country formed such armed groups to defend themselves against military violence.
The newspaper "The Irrawaddy" reported that 15 soldiers had previously been killed in an ambush.
In revenge, around 150 military officers set fire to the town on Tuesday afternoon.
"When the fighting started, we fled the village because it was too dangerous," said a resident of the dpa news agency.
"An elderly couple died in the fire, they were both over 80 years old."
Of the original 240 houses in Kin Ma, only 40 are left, the man reported.
"They just burned down 200 houses and we didn't have time to take anything with us." Many of those affected were currently in neighboring villages, where they were being provided with food.
"But we don't know what to do next." About a thousand people would have lost everything.
The military junta announced that the fire started after "40 armed terrorists" set fire to the house of a local representative of a military-friendly party.
The wind then carried the flames to other houses.
Myanmar has been plunging into chaos and violence since a generals' coup.
The military brutally suppresses any resistance.
At least 863 people were killed, according to estimates by the prisoners' aid organization AAPP.
More than 6,000 were arrested.
The army had justified its coup with alleged manipulation of the parliamentary elections in November, which the party of Prime Minister Aung San Suu Kyi had won.
The former Nobel Peace Prize laureate is currently on trial in an internationally criticized trial (read more here).
Among other things, she is accused of disregarding corona requirements and illegally importing radio equipment.
Critics consider the allegations to be made.
as / dpa