SAA event in Myanmar on Mon 31st August 2026

Some military units are reportedly arriving at the scene after about a dozen villagers, including the village administrator, were shot dead by the military yesterday in Htmaung village, Mahlaing Township, Mandalay Region. 

Yesterday (August 31) morning, in the village of Htmaung, about two miles west of the Yangon-Mandalay Expressway, village administrator U Soe Lin Htike and villagers U Bo Thet Lin, U Maung Thein, U Chit San Maung, U Than Htay Aung, U Wai Yan Soe, U Zaw Khet, U Hein Wunna Zaw, U Win Naing, U Ohn Maung, Daw Khin Mu, and Daw Lei Lei Win were shot and killed.

An official from the Guardians of Mahlaing, a group that publishes news about the revolution in Mahlaing Township, said that the rebels may have fired on them because they were the leader, deputy leader, treasurer, and members of the militia group (Pyu Saw Htee) formed by the military. 

“Those militia members have been designated as military targets by the revolutionary forces for a long time because they are armed with weapons provided by the military and are willing to cooperate with the military in Meiktila district, harassing and harming the people. They have also been waiting for the right opportunity to clear them out,” the official said.

Military propaganda media have been reporting since yesterday afternoon that 10 men and two women, including the village administrator, aged between 20 and 60, were shot dead by the rebel forces, and the military issued a statement today . 

The report said that about 25 PDFs entered the village in three vehicles and motorcycles, shot and killed 12 people, including the administrator, and then left.

Mahlaing Township is located on the east bank of the Ayeyarwady River between Myinchan and Meikhtila, and Thammagyi Village is only about 12 miles from Mahlaing. 

A local from Mahlaing Township said that those killed were workers who received salaries from the military and worked as Pyu Saw Htee. 

“I heard that the Pyu Saw Htee were trained under the military and were paid to be armed. They did everything they were told to do. The locals know about that side. They were the ones who led the intimidation and arbitrary arrests. During the (military) election, they even arrested and beat those who didn’t vote, and they even shouted through loudspeakers,” he said. 

However, it has not been announced which revolutionary group is behind the attack. Myanmar Now cannot independently confirm this situation and is still investigating to find out more. 

The same day after the killings, the military arrived in the village of Htm Maung, on the Mahlaing side of the highway, and some soldiers are still in the village today, an official from the Guardians of Mahlaing said.

The military statement said the bodies of the deceased were taken to the Mahlaing General Hospital and that necessary security operations were continuing in the area.

Regarding the killing of the village administrator of Htmaunggyi village, the military has contacted Mandalay Region Spokesperson and Minister of Planning, Economy and Finance U Thein Htay but was not able to reach him.

The military has been pressing forward with full force since the end of last year in the Myingyan, Taungtha, and Nyaungtogyi areas, where the revolutionary forces are strong. Then, starting in the middle of this year, the military has been increasingly attacking the areas around Mahlaing and Kyaukpadaung townships, according to the revolutionary forces.  

In late June, after the military deployed troops to the northwest of Mahlaing Township, locals said they were stationed at Panai Pagoda on the Taungtha-Mahlaing road and collecting money from tourist vehicles. 

Then, in the second week of August, a military column from Kyaukpadaung raided and burned down villages in the southwestern part of Mahlaing Township, burning down more than 30 houses and stealing threshing machines, tractors, sesame, rice, gold, silver, and consumer goods, the Mahlaing resident said. 

He speculated that the military may be trying to regain control of the area along the road, as it wants to build a road from Meiktila to Myingyan. 

In the second part of the “1027 Operation”, the Shan-Mann Operation, the revolutionary forces were able to control the area around Mattara near Mandalay, but due to Chinese intervention, a ceasefire was declared in northern Shan State and when the Chinese launched a full-scale offensive into the central part of the country, the revolutionary forces were forced to relinquish areas from Sint Ku, Thabeik Kyin, and Tagaung Townships in Mandalay Region to upper Sagaing Region.