BY PC Bureau
January 7, 2026: Reports have emerged alleging a severe human rights violation in Wetlet Township , Sagaing Region, where five women were reportedly subjected to gang rape over three days by Myanmar junta forces and allied militia members during a military operation that began on December 31, 2025.
According to unverified accounts circulated by anti-junta networks and exile media, a combined force of over 150 personnel from the junta’s Brigade 33—likely Light Infantry Battalion units—and the pro-junta Phyu Saw Htee militia carried out raids in the area. The alleged victims included four women in their 30s from Inndaung village and one 40-year-old woman from Minywataung village. Reports suggest the women were detained, assaulted, and then released on January 3, 2026. Disturbingly, the accounts claim that the perpetrators administered contraceptive injections prior to release.
Sagaing Region has been a major stronghold of anti-junta resistance since the February 2021 military coup. In recent weeks, the junta has intensified operations, including airstrikes, village burnings, and ground assaults in Wetlet Township. Locals report that multiple villages have been torched and tens of thousands of residents displaced, as the military attempts to secure areas ahead of the regime’s phased elections.
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Sexual violence has been a documented tactic of junta forces throughout Myanmar’s conflict zones. Human Rights Watch, in its 2025 World Report, noted that units such as the so-called “ogre column” have routinely abducted and raped women. While the Wetlet incident remains unverified by independent sources, the allegations are consistent with the documented pattern of abuses in the region. No official statements have been issued by the junta, resistance groups, or international monitors to confirm the incident.
The Phyu Saw Htee militias, known to be armed and supported by the military, have been implicated in previous atrocities, including torture and sexual violence, though their direct involvement in this case remains unconfirmed.
In a horrific violation of human rights, the junta regime’s forces subjected five women to gang rape over the course of three harrowing days in Wetlet township, Sagaing region, Myanmar.
The junta army from brigade 33 and its allied Phyu Saw Htee militia — comprising more than… pic.twitter.com/XKZ7P1ACL5
— Chindwin News Agency (@TheChindwin) January 6, 2026
Recent military activity in Wetlet has included reported clashes with People’s Defence Force (PDF) groups, with resistance sources claiming heavy junta losses in ambushes near villages such as Moatti and Mingone. Junta airstrikes in December 2025 also reportedly killed civilians, contributing to a pattern of escalating violence.
Human rights organizations continue to raise alarms about conflict-related sexual violence in Myanmar, noting hundreds of documented cases since the 2021 coup. International bodies and advocacy groups are urging investigations into the Wetlet allegations, though access to conflict areas remains severely restricted under junta control.
The alleged gang rape in Wetlet underscores the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, highlighting the systematic use of sexual violence and other abuses as tools of control by military and militia forces. Calls for accountability, justice, and unrestricted access for human rights monitors continue amid the civil war.
