Around 10,000 Displaced, Several Detained as Myanmar Junta Launches Operations in Sagaing Region

Around 10,000 residents from at least 10 villages in southern Kani Township and along the Chindwin River have been displaced as the Myanmar military deploys hundreds of troops in combined riverine and ground operations. Troops dispatched from the Northwest Regional Military Command in Monywa to secure the Monywa-Kani-Yargyi-Kalewa road arrived in Chaungma Village on August 16. Soldiers subsequently split into smaller units, raiding the village and looting homes abandoned by fleeing civilians. On the morning of August 18, regime forces stormed Minma Village, detaining six male residents.