ItвЂ™s very troubling,вЂќ the local man who spoke to Myanmar Now said. вЂњThe Yamar stream is currently flooding, so there are not many routes left for the displaced locals to escape through. Photographs seen by Myanmar Now show locals leaving their villages and carrying their belongings on motorcycles or in ox-drawn carts down muddy roads. Residents of War Tan, as well as Done Taw, Shwe Pan Khaing, Tein Pin Kan and Thea Taw Gyi, all fled this weekвЂ™s attacks, but encountered heavy rains which forced them to remain in the area. The Myanmar army has repeatedly denied responsibility for arson attacks across the country, instead blaming the anti-junta PeopleвЂ™s Defence Forces for the acts. Most recently, on Thursday morning, the village of War Tan, south of the mining project, was also reportedly torched.

The military council has not released any information concerning their murder.ДЄ junta column of some 100 soldiers-reportedly stationed near the Yangtse office in the area since early May-had been launching assaults on villages surrounding the Kyisintaung mine since Tuesday, burning nearly 40 homes in total, according to local sources. The bodies of the two men were cremated on Thursday morning. The source said he knew Kyaw Nyein personally, and that he had been taking part in the general strike as part of the Civil Disobedience Movement and therefore refusing to go to work at Yangtse. They were first used as guides through the area and then killed after the others were released.вЂќ They werenвЂ™t killed in front of the other three victims. вЂњFrom when they were first taken, they had their hands tied behind their backs. вЂњTheir motorcycle was in bad condition, so it made a lot of strange noises and it's most likely that the military thought they were setting up explosive devices,вЂќ the local man explained, citing statements from the surviving abductees who were released. The victims were residents of Ywar Thar village in Salingyi Township but were later left in the cemetery of Kan Kone village, near the Kyisintaung copper mine. It appeared that they were shot at close range.вЂќ вЂњChit Thein Zaw had bullet wounds to his chest and head. He also had a bullet wound in his forehead,вЂќ he continued. вЂњKyaw NyeinвЂ™s face was misaligned due to the amount of torture he was subjected to.

They had their hands tied behind their backs,вЂќ a local man told Myanmar Now on the condition of anonymity. вЂњThe injuries suggest that they were tortured. Kyaw Nyein and Chit Thein Zaw were found with multiple injuries, suggesting they had suffered severe abuse while they were held by the troops. Yangtse jointly operates two other nearby copper mines at Sabetaung and Kyisintaung with UMEHL, known as the S&K mines. Yangtse is a subsidiary of Wanbao Mining, which jointly operates the controversial Letpadaung mining site in the area with the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd.

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