[ Myanmar Now ]Armed USDP supporters destroy homes of pro-NLD villagers in Kanbalu

Armed members of the military-allied Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) destroyed four homes in a village in Sagaing Region’s Kanbalu Township on Wednesday, according to local sources. 

About 50 USDP members and supporters carrying guns, sticks and knives gathered at the party’s office in Yi Dway village at 6am before proceeding to the homes of four known supporters of the National League for Democracy (NLD), the sources said.

They then confronted the NLD supporters, identified as Kyaw San, Phoe Tote, Soe Lwin and Win Myo Oo, and set fire to their homes, the sources told Myanmar Now.

Photos sent by residents of the village show a number of houses completely destroyed by fire, leaving only their pillars still standing.

The conflict was apparently sparked by an incident the previous evening, when betel farms owned by USDP members and supporters were destroyed by unknown attackers.