Photos of the aftermath of a Christmas Eve massacre in easternMyanmar that reportedly left more than 30 people, including women and children, dead and burned in their vehicles, have spread on social media in the country, fueling outrage against the military that took power in February.
The charred bodies of over 30 people were in three burned-out vehicles that were shot by government troops as they fled combat. The accounts could not be verified.
Save the Children said that two of its staffers were missing in the massacre, which sparked outrage against the military that took power after ousting the elected government. Save the Children is suspending operations in the region.
At least 35 people, including women and children, were killed in a barbaric attack in Kayah state.
We will continue to press for accountability for the perpetrators of the ongoing campaign of violence against the people of Burma.
A villager who said he went to the scene told The Associated Press that the victims had fled the fighting between armed resistance groups and the army. He said that they were killed when they were arrested by the troops and taken to refugee camps.
Save the Children said that two of its staff who were traveling home for the holidays after conducting humanitarian response work in a nearby community were caught up in the incident and remain missing.
The group said that their private vehicle was attacked and burned out. People were forced from their cars, arrested, killed, and burned to death.
According to a report in the state-run Myanma Alinn daily newspaper on Saturday, the fighting near Mo So broke out on Friday when members of ethnic guerrilla forces, known as the Karenni National Progressive Party, and those opposed to the military.
The seven vehicles they were traveling in were destroyed in a fire, and they included new members who were going to attend training to fight the army. The killings were not given any further details.
The witness told the AP that the remains were burned beyond recognition, and that children's and women's clothes were found with medical supplies and food.
The witness said that the bodies were tied with ropes and set on fire.
He didn't see the moment they were killed, but he believed some of them were Mo So villagers. He denied that those captured were members of militias.
The Mo So villagers were arrested by the army, according to the independent media. The media said that four members of the local paramilitary Border Guard Forces who went to negotiate for their release were tied up and shot in the head by the military.
The witness said the villagers and anti-government militia groups left the bodies as military troops arrived near Mo So.
It was the worst incident during Christmas. The director of the Karenni Human Rights Group said that the massacre was a crime against humanity.
The government troops were accused of rounding up villagers and tying them up and slaughtering them. The leader of the opposition said the civilians were burned alive.
A video of the aftermath of the assault showed charred bodies in a circle and what appeared to be the remains of a hut.
Thousands of people have fled to Thailand to escape fighting on the border. Local officials said that the military unleashed heavy bombardments on Lay Kay Kaw, a small town in Kayin state that is controlled by ethnic Karen guerrillas.
The governor of Thailand's Tak province, Somchai Charoenkitroongroj, told reporters that around 4,700 evacuees from Myanmar were in three shelters across the border. There were loud noises across the river dividing the countries.
He ordered the border districts to prepare for more refugees.
Western governments issued a joint statement condemning "serious human rights violations committed by the military regime across the country."
The statement said that the regime should cease its indiscriminate attacks in Karen state and throughout the country.
