Myanmar's junta on Saturday accused anti-coup fighters of razing a restive western town where a Save the Children office was located, as the region sees increasing conflict between the military and dissidents.

The Southeast Asian country has been in chaos since a February coup, with more than 1,200 people killed as the military cracks down on nationwide dissent, according to a local monitoring group.

So-called "people's defence forces" (PDF) have sprung up across the country to take on the junta, escalating attacks and bloody reprisals.

On Friday, local media and witnesses reported that junta troops had shelled the town of Thantlang in western Chin state after a confrontation with a local self-defence force.

Locals said a fire then engulfed the town of some 7,500 residents, destroying dozens of homes and structures -- including a Save the Children office in Thantlang, the London-based charity confirmed in a statement.

The junta's information team confirmed Saturday that two churches and 70 homes were burnt down in Thantlang, accusing the PDF of the blaze after security forces had clashed with their fighters.

Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told local media the military's role in Thantlang's razing was "groundless accusations".

"Our security forces and civil servants tried to stop the fire, but they could not do it as those PDF attacked them," he said, adding that one soldier was killed in the melee.

"It was the PDF who burnt (the town), not our Tatmadaw," he said, referring to the military by its Myanmar name.

AFP could not independently verify the reports from the remote region.

Most of Thantlang's inhabitants fled the town during clashes last month, many of them crossing the border to India.

Save the Children said in a statement Friday the town was "largely deserted" when the shelling occurred, and its staff had already left following the earlier violence.

It also voiced concern about the safety of 20 children who the charity believes is still in Thantlang, citing the conflict as a sign of a "deepening crisis in Myanmar".

The United Nations said last week it feared an even greater human rights catastrophe amid reports of thousands of troops massing in the north and west of the country.

In May, government forces used artillery to flush out rebels from the town of Mindat in the southern part of Chin state, and later cut off its water supply, according to a spokesman for a local insurgent group.

Dozens of homes destroyed in Myanmar shelling: reports
Bangkok (AFP) Oct 29, 2021 - Myanmar troops on Friday shelled a restive western town, with an ensuing fire destroying dozens of houses, as well as the office of charity Save the Children, witnesses and local media reported.

The Southeast Asian country has been in chaos since a coup in February, with more than 1,200 people killed in a crackdown on dissent, according to a local monitoring group.

Across Myanmar, "self-defence forces" have sprung up to take on the junta, escalating attacks and bloody reprisals.

Junta troops shelled the town of Thantlang in western Chin state after a confrontation with a local self-defence force, according to Khit Thit media and The Chindwin news outlet.

A Thantlang resident who had fled the town following earlier clashes told AFP the shelling began after members of the local force captured a soldier.

"Soon after it happened, heavy artilleries were fired," he said, adding he had heard between 80 and 100 houses had been destroyed.

"We don't know if houses were burned after being hit by artilleries or if they set fire to the houses."

"We... don't even know what to say," said one woman still living in the town contacted by AFP, who said her house had been destroyed, before hanging up.

Pictures published on local media showed pillars of smoke billowing into the sky from the town perched amid green hills.

AFP could not independently verify the reports from the remote region.

"At least 100 buildings are thought to have been destroyed so far by the fire... which reportedly broke out at around 11:00 am following the use of heavy weapons," Save the Children said in a statement.

"Fire continues to tear through the town and there is no fire service available to control the blaze," it said, adding one of its offices had been damaged.

Most of Thantlang's 7,500 inhabitants left the town during clashes last month, with many fleeing across the border to India.

Save the Children said the town was "largely deserted" when the shelling occurred, and its staff had already left following the earlier violence.

The United Nations said last week it feared an even greater human rights catastrophe amid reports of thousands of troops massing in the north and west of the country.

In May, government forces used artillery to flush out rebels from the town of Mindat in the southern part of Chin state, and later cut off its water supply, according to a spokesman for a local insurgent group.

Myanmar junta sentences Suu Kyi aide to 20 years for treason
Yangon (AFP) Oct 29, 2021 - Myanmar's military sentenced a close aide of ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi to 20 years in prison on Friday, his lawyer said, the first high-ranking member of her party to be jailed by a junta court.

The country has been in turmoil since a February 1 coup ousted Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) government, accusing it of fraud in 2020 polls it won in a landslide.

Myanmar has since been in chaos, with huge democracy protests and a crackdown on dissent that has killed more than 1,200 people, according to a local monitoring group.

Former member of parliament and NLD speaker Win Htein was handed 20 years in jail for treason by a special court in the capital Naypyidaw, lawyer Myint Thwin told AFP.

He added that he would appeal the sentence, and that his client was in good health.

Win Htein, 80, is the first high-ranking NLD member to be sentenced by the junta after a trial.

The former soldier is a longtime political prisoner who has spent long stretches of time in detention for campaigning against military rule.

Considered Suu Kyi's right-hand man, he was long been sought out by international and domestic media for insights into what Myanmar's former de facto leader is thinking.

The wheelchair-bound politician requires oxygen to help him breathe, according to local media, and suffers from hypertension, diabetes, and heart and thyroid diseases.

Ahead of his arrest three days after the coup, he told local media the military putsch was "not wise", and that its leaders "have taken (the country) in the wrong direction".

- Vendetta -

The sentencing was "an indication that this regime does want to throw the book at these NLD leaders", including Suu Kyi, said Richard Horsey of the International Crisis Group.

"They do want to portray them as having been traitorous, corrupt and so on. It's definitely not a good sign for others," he said, although he added it was possible the junta held a vendetta against former soldier Win Htein.

Suu Kyi faces a raft of charges that could see her jailed for decades, from illegally importing walkie-talkies to flouting coronavirus rules.

She testified for the first time in a junta court on Tuesday, four months after being put on trial by the military, a source with knowledge of the case told AFP.

Media have been barred from attending Suu Kyi's trial at the special court in the military-built capital Naypyidaw and the junta recently banned her legal team from speaking to reporters.

Before the ban, her lawyers said the Nobel laureate, 76, would not call any defence witnesses at her incitement trial and she will represent herself.

The junta has threatened to dissolve the NLD and continues to wage a bloody campaign against opponents to its rule.

Related Links
Democracy in the 21st century at TerraDaily.com

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Myanmar's Suu Kyi testifies for first time in junta court
Bangkok (AFP) Oct 26, 2021
Ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi testified for the first time in a junta court on Tuesday, four months after being put on trial by the military, a source with knowledge of the case told AFP. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the February 1 coup, with nationwide protests and more than 1,100 people killed by security forces, according to a local monitoring group. Suu Kyi went on trial in June, four months after she was taken into custody, and faces a raft of charges that could see her jailed ... read more