Locals said they are still finding the bodies of those executed by government forces that captured their communities last week. Residents of two villages captured by junta soldiers last week in Sagaing Region's Ye-U Township claim they discovered more burnt bodies over the weekend.

        After regime soldiers withdrew early Thursday morning, six dead were discovered in a home in the hamlet of Mone Taing Pin, Myanmar Now reported late last week. Since then, the remains of at least 11 additional persons have been discovered in the village, with another ten discovered in the neighboring community of Inpin, which is only one farm away from Mone Taing Pin.

        "There were six dead in two houses, three in another, and two more in a fourth residence. "Inpin had ten more," claimed a Mone Taing Pin resident who did not want to be identified. The 27 bodies are thought to be those of peasants kidnapped by government soldiers in the region. While the exact cause of death remained unknown, there was indications indicating the victims were murdered before their corpses were burnt.

        "There was blood in front of the houses, so it appears they were slain outdoors and then brought inside and burned on fire," the villager speculated. When the soldiers raided Mone Taing Pin last Tuesday, more than 100 villagers were reportedly taken. According to one 60-year-old guy who managed to flee, the military took roughly 30 individuals with them when they departed on Thursday, including three monks.

        "I witnessed them carry 30 men away in groups of five with their wrists tied behind their backs," he claimed. "Eight of us who were incarcerated within the monastery were able to flee as they began preparing to depart at 2 a.m. that night," he continued.

        According to the individual, who requested anonymity, the forces abused several of the abductees and wanted to know where local People's Defense Force (PDF) groups were hiding. Residents of Mone Taing Pin think their village was targeted as a result of an early Tuesday morning confrontation between regime troops and PDF insurgents in the region.

        Locals claim that amid the skirmish, junta forces opened fire with heavy artillery, killing two local males in their 20s. During the two-day takeover, they claimed, more than 30 residences in the community of 400 people were set on fire.

        Local PDF troops stated they didn't assault the junta column after it departed Mone Taing Pin because they didn't want the junta hostages to suffer any more civilian losses.