Resistance fighters uncover 20 residents slain after the military takes over Kalay village

Following military airstrikes and ongoing skirmishes in the area, at least 20 civilians were killed and 38 homes were set ablaze in Natchaung hamlet in Sagaing Region's Kalay Township, according to an evicted legislator and a local resistance fighter.

While checking on the residences that had been demolished following the junta's control of the community, local defence troops discovered the dead people in Natchaung.
According to elected regional MP Thant Wai Kyaw, who was unable to take office after Myanmar's February 1 coup, Myanmar army personnel had been stationed in the area since the third week of December, with violent skirmishes with the resistance beginning on December 22.

Htoo Aung, 72; Min Din, 62; Win Myint Yi, 60; Aye Ko, 60; Maung Kyi, 58; Htay Maung, 57; and eight more people between the ages of 20 and 40 whose identities were not revealed, according to a document made by resistance force members who visited Natchaung on December 31.
The bodies that are still missing have yet to be identified.

"We only discovered the bodies after returning to the village to verify."
Some of the dead had been discovered on the streets.
We didn't have enough time to return all of the dead, so we incinerated them on the streets," Thant Wai Kyaw explained.

No more information about the victims has been released.

Multiple structures in Natchaung were reduced to ashes, according to photographs and videos seen by Myanmar Now.

According to the MP, the extent of the damage to the nearby villages of Hakhalay, Chaungkwa, Yaeso, and Pan Mon Chaung is unknown.

On December 22, a local alliance led by the Kalay Pa Ka Pha*, the Kalay People's Defence Force (PDF), and the Chinland National Defence Force (CNDF) attacked the military column occupying Natchaung, resulting in a seven-day battle.

The total number of casualties on both sides is yet unknown.

Myanmar Now has made several attempts to contact the junta's spokesperson about the skirmishes in Kalay Township, but has received no response.