Major General Than Htike (, sometimes misspelt Than Hteik) (BC - 28146) is a Burmese military officer. He was appointed as the Commander of Myanmar's Northwestern Command based in
Monywa
Monywa (; ) is the largest city and capital city of Sagaing Region, Myanmar, located north-west of Mandalay on the eastern bank of the River Chindwin. Monywa is one of the largest economic cities in Myanmar. It is also known as 'Neem City' beca ...
, on 6 January 2022, succeeding
Phyo Thant
Brigadier General Phyo Thant () is a Burmese military officer and incumbent deputy minister for border affairs of Myanmar. He previously served as the commander of the Northwestern Regional Command.
Career
Phyo Thant graduated from the 23rd inta ...
, who became deputy
Minister for Border Affairs. Phyo Thant had overseen mass military casualties during his leadership of the command.
Military career
Than Htike graduated from the 38th batch of the
Defence Services Academy
The Defence Services Academy (, ) located in Pyin Oo Lwin, is the premier military service academy of Myanmar, training future officers for all three branches of Myanmar military. The Ministry of Defence administered academy offers bachelor's d ...
.
Prior to his promotion as the commander of the Northwestern Command, he commanded military operations in
Kalay
Kalay (; , ''Kalü''), also known as Kale, is a town in the Sagaing Region of Myanmar. It is located upstream from Mandalay and Monywa on the Myittha River, a tributary of the Chindwin River. The town is the district headquarters of the Kalay Distr ...
.
The
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
sanctioned Than Htike in November 2022 for leading military forces who perpetrated serious human rights violations, including the
Let Yet Kone massacre
The Let Yet Kone massacre was a mass killing of civilians on 16 September 2022, at a monastic school in the village of Let Yet Kone, near Tabayin in Sagaing Region, in north-western Myanmar. During the massacre, Myanmar Army and Myanmar Air Force ...
, and the burning of 20,000 homes in
Sagaing Region
Sagaing Region (, ; formerly Sagaing Division) is an administrative divisions of Myanmar, administrative region of Myanmar, located in the north-western part of the country between latitude 21° 30' north and longitude 94° 97' east. It is border ...
since the
February 2021 coup. In January 2023, he was sanctioned by the Canadian government.
In February 2023, Than Htike's troops launched the
Sagaing offensive, killing dozens of civilians and displacing tens of thousands of villagers.
Than Htike's 99th Light Infantry Division troops, dubbed the 'ogre column' by locals, killed at least 17 villagers during the
Tar Taing massacre in March 2023.
See also
*
2021–2023 Myanmar civil war
*
State Administration Council
The State Administration Council (; abbreviated SAC or နစက) is the military junta currently governing Myanmar, established by Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Min Aung Hlaing following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, February 2021 c ...
*
Tatmadaw
The Tatmadaw, also known as the Sit-Tat, is the armed forces of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence and composed of the Myanmar Army, the Myanmar Navy and the Myanmar Air Force. Auxiliary services include ...
References
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Living people
Burmese generals
Year of birth missing (living people)
Individuals related to Myanmar sanctions
Defence Services Academy alumni