New Delhi: Media reports said the Christmas Eve massacre in eastern Myanmar killed more than 30 people and photos of it were shared on social media, prompting widespread outrage and condemnation in the military.
The incident happened on Friday near Mo So village in Kaya State, and victims included women and children whose charred bodies were found in vehicles that had been burnt to ashes.
A senior UN official said he was “horrified” by the alleged killings, and urged authorities to investigate the matter.
While opposition activists have blamed government troops for the alleged massacre, the ruling military has not commented.
What happened on 24th December?
According to state media, news agency Reuters reported, soldiers fired at and killed an unspecified number of “terrorists with weapons” fighting the army that took power in February this year.
Citing a villager who claimed to be an eyewitness, an Associated Press report said the victims were people who fought between armed resistance groups and Myanmar’s military in the village of Koi Ngan next to Mo So, Friday. They had fled from the ongoing battle.
The villager is quoted as saying that as they were on their way to refugee camps in the western part of the settlement, they were arrested and killed by soldiers.
The report also said that two members of Save the Children, an international humanitarian group, were missing since the massacre.
The group said in a statement that staff members were on their way home for the holidays when they were “stuck in the incident”.
“We have confirmation that his personal vehicle was attacked and burnt. The army allegedly forced people out of their cars, arrested some, killed others and burnt their bodies,” Save the Children was quoted as saying.
Since then operations in the area have been suspended.
UN official calls for ‘complete and transparent’ investigation
Meanwhile, Martin Griffiths, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said civilians were “including at least one child” among the dead, and that reports of the killings were credible.
The United Nations in Myanmar calls for an immediate and thorough investigation into the incident reported in Kaya State on December 24 and the perpetrators to be brought to justice. All measures should be taken to protect citizens from harm.https://t.co/0EtGvb3bi8 pic.twitter.com/t1yfruZAwg
— United Nations in Myanmar (@UNinMyanmar) December 27, 2021
“I condemn this grave incident and all attacks against civilians across the country that are prohibited under international humanitarian law,” Griffiths said.
He said there should be a “profound and transparent” investigation, and also called for the protection of citizens.
“Millions of people in Myanmar are in dire need of humanitarian aid,” Griffiths said, adding that the United Nations and its humanitarian allies would continue to provide aid.
Myanmar’s military overthrew the elected Aung San Suu Kyi government on February 1 this year, and the country has been in turmoil since then.
Since February, more than 1,300 people have been killed and more than 11,000 jailed as the military cracked down on the protests, according to the Association for Assistance of Political Prisoners’ Rights Group.
However, as Reuters reports, the military disputes the group’s death toll.
,