On April 6th 2021, a roadside bomb exploded at the passage of a Tatmadaw truck travelling between W--- and M--- villages, Hsaw Htee Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District [the truck did not sustain any damage]. An unidentified number of Tatmadaw soldiers later arrived at the scene and saw two villagers from W--- village sitting on their motorbikes nearby. They suspected these two villagers of detonating the bomb and confiscated their motorbikes at about 4:45 pm. [The fact that the two villagers were not arrested despite being suspected of involvement in the attack suggests that the soldiers were only interested in stealing their motorbikes. This is a clear violation of section 9(d) of the NCA, which prevents signatories from engaging in “looting, theft, or the taking of property without permission”.]
The two villagers then walked away, but one of them realised he had left his ID card in his motorbike’s under seat storage. He worried that the Tatmadaw might later try to search for him if they find his ID card, so he walked towards the soldiers in an attempt to retrieve it. However, the soldiers fired 10 warning shots at him, prompting the villager to flee the scene. The soldiers ultimately left, taking the two motorbikes with them. The two villagers do not know which Battalion they belong to. Based on the road they took, they assume they were going to Infantry Battalion[3] #2’s camp in Nyaunglebin town.