Nearly 50 civilians have been detained as hostages during a nighttime junta raid in Sagaing region. Around 70 junta soldiers arrived in two vehicles and fired shells on Baoh village in Khin-U Township on Thursday morning, according to the Narapati Guerrilla Revolution Force. Villagers were asleep and could not flee and most of the hostages are women and children. Troops carried away valuables during the day, the armed group told The Irrawaddy. “Resistance forces are only watching the village because they have hostages. The safety of villagers is our priority,” said Thakhin Chit of the group. Baoh had more than 400 households and nearly 2,000 residents. It is near Kan Thit village, where 14 regime soldiers and pro-junta militia members were killed on Wednesday in a resistance ambush. The regime troops killed a high-school student from Kan Thit on Wednesday after the ambush, according to the Khin-U Township Information page. More than 1,000 civilians have fled five villages in the area. Two older people and their one-year-old grandchild from Muthar village in Khin-U Township were seriously injured by junta artillery on Thursday. Thousands of civilians have fled their homes in the township, according to Khin-U People’s Defence Force. Heavy junta casualties in ambushes on Wednesday in Khin-U will bring raids by troops, said Bo Thanmani, who leads the group.
