Myanmar's military has kidnapped and killed local employees of a Chinese copper mining firm

[ASEAN NOW Content Team]

 

The Yangtse Copper Co. Ltd. employees were among people escaping junta assaults on villages near the mining projects in Sagaing.

 

On Wednesday evening, two of the five residents taken by junta forces in the southern Sagaing Region's Yinmabin and Salingyi townships were found killed.
Employees of a Chinese business in charge of a significant copper mining project in the area were identified as the guys that died.

Residents had been displaced by military raids on nearby towns and were taking refuge near Done Taw when they were apprehended on Wednesday afternoon.
Three of the men were quickly released, but Kyaw Nyein, 38, and Chit Thein Zaw, 34, were found dead later that evening.

 

Both men had previously worked for Yangtse Copper Co. Ltd.'s Myanmar branch.
According to residents, Kyaw Nyein worked in the processing department while Chit Thein Zaw worked as a drill operator.

Yangtse is a subsidiary of Wanbao Mining, which together with the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd. (UMEHL), a military conglomerate, operates the contentious Letpadaung mining site in the area.
Yangtse and UMEHL jointly run two more neighbouring copper mines, known as the S&K mines, at Sabetaung and Kyisintaung.

 

Multiple injuries were discovered on Kyaw Nyein and Chit Thein Zaw, indicating that they had been subjected to serious treatment while being imprisoned by the military.

"It appears that they were tortured based on their injuries.
On the condition of anonymity, a local guy informed Myanmar Now that they had their hands tied behind their backs.

"Due to the amount of torture Kyaw Nyein was subjected to, his face was misaligned.
He has a bullet hole in his forehead as well," he added.
"Chit Thein Zaw was shot in the chest and the head.
They looked to be shot at close range."

 

The victims were from Ywar Thar village in Salingyi Township, but they were eventually buried in Kan Kone village's cemetery near the Kyisintaung copper mine.

"Their motorcycle was in horrible shape, so it made a lot of unusual noises, and the military most likely thought they were building up explosive devices," the local guy added, citing testimonies from the abductees who were eventually released.
"Their hands were bound behind their backs from the moment they were kidnapped.
They were not murdered in the presence of the other three victims.
After the others were liberated, they were utilised as guides through the area before being slain."

 

According to the source, Kyaw Nyein was intimately acquainted with him and had been participating in the general strike as part of the Civil Disobedience Movement, refusing to work at Yangtse.

On Thursday morning, the two men's bodies were incinerated.

The military council has not made any statements about their assassination.

 

According to local sources, a junta column of about 100 troops, which had been stationed near the Yangtse office in the area since early May, had been assaulting villages surrounding the Kyisintaung mine since Tuesday, burning approximately 40 homes in total.
The village of War Tan, located south of the mining facility, was reportedly set ablaze on Thursday morning.

The Myanmar army has denied responsibility for arson attacks around the country, blaming them instead on the anti-junta People's Defence Forces.

Residents of War Tan, as well as Done Taw, Shwe Pan Khaing, Tein Pin Kan, and Thea Taw Gyi, all fled the attacks this week, but were compelled to stay due to severe rains.