Khalid Umar Malik
14 Jan 2022, 19:46 GMT+10
SAGAING, Myanmar - On Monday, resistance fighters raided a prison labor camp near Myanmar's border with India, murdering an estimated 11 guards in a shootout.
The Tamu People's Defence Force (PDF) said it raided the Oak Pho Kanbaung site in Sagaing's Kabaw valley around 5:30 a.m. and ordered the guards to surrender.
According to Ba Marn, an officer with the Tamu PDF's Battalion 1, the guards refused. "The prison officer gave shouting orders while we had them surrounded, and chaos ensued. People died on both sides," he said.
The camp is located about 10 miles north of Tamu, near the settlement of Watshu. It is one of several slave labor camps in Myanmar notorious for their inhumane working conditions.
Thousands are said to have died at the camps in recent decades due to malnutrition, beatings, and sickness. Conditions improved during the political reforms in 2011, but little information about the camps has emerged since last year's military coup.
During Monday's fight, the PDF and prison guards traded fire for many minutes, with the guards deploying machine guns. According to Ba Marn, a prison officer and his wife were among those killed.
Two 20-year-old PDF members were also killed, while four others were injured.
Get a daily dose of Salt Lake City Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Salt Lake City Sun.
More InformationCHICAGO, Illinois: Driven by an ongoing shortage of properties available on the market, in March US single-family home prices rose ...
MIAMI, Florida: Carnival Cruise Lines has said a cruise ship, the Carnival Sunshine, which sailed through rough seas off the ...
BEIJING, China: On his return to China after a three year absence, which is his company's largest production hub, Tesla ...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks surged on Friday on the debt ceiling resolution and a strong jobs report.Nonfarm ...
SANTA CLARA, California: As investors piled more capital into Nvidia, the chipmaker that has become one of the biggest winners ...
PARIS, France: France has celebrated the groundbreaking for the first of four battery manufacturing gigafactories, which European and Asian companies ...
Editor's note: Here is a look at immigration-related news around the U.S. this week. Questions? Tips? Comments? Email the VOA ...
KRESNA GORGE, Bulgaria -- With churning waters cutting through a verdant valley filled with some of Europe's most diverse nature ...
The Miami Heat find themselves in unfamiliar territory after a series opener in the playoffs, while the Denver Nuggets are ...
The Miami Heat entered the playoffs as the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference but are in an unfamiliar ...
WASHINGTON - U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law on Saturday legislation that suspends the U.S. government's debt limit through ...
The owners of the Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers are teaming to donate $100,000 to organizations serving veterans at ...