A UN official said on Sunday that he was “horrified” by credible reports of at least 35 civilians killed and their bodies burned in Myanmar, and called on the government to launch an investigation. Two activists of the non-profit group Save the Children are missing after their vehicle attacked and burned several people in an incident in eastern Kaya state.
A watchdog group and local media have blamed junta soldiers for the attack.
“I condemn this grave incident and all attacks against civilians across the country,” Martin Griffiths, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said in a statement.
He called for “a thorough and transparent investigation”.
Myanmar has been in chaos since a coup in February, according to a local watchdog group, with more than 1,300 people killed in action by security forces.
“People’s Defense Forces” (PDF) have sprung up to fight the junta across the country, dragging the military into a bloody stalemate of conflicts and retaliation.
On Saturday, photos appeared on social media to show two charred trucks and a car on a highway in Kaya State’s Hpruso township, with charred remains of bodies inside.
A member of a local PDF group said its fighters had found the vehicles on Saturday morning, after hearing that the military had intercepted several vehicles in Hpruso after a clash with its fighters on Friday.
“When we went to check in the area this morning, we found burnt bodies in two trucks. We found 27 bodies,” he told AFP on Saturday on condition of anonymity.
“We found 27 skulls,” said another witness, who did not wish to be named, and who said there were other bodies that could not be counted.
Save the Children said later on Saturday that two of its Myanmar employees were “caught” in the incident and were missing.
Both were traveling home after carrying out humanitarian work in the area, the charity said in a statement, adding that it had suspended its work in several areas.
Myanmar’s junta earlier said its soldiers were attacked in Hpruso on Friday after trying to stop seven cars moving “suspiciously”.
Several people were killed by soldiers in the following clashes, spokesman Jae Min Tun told AFP without giving details.
The Myanmar Witness Monitor said it had confirmed local media reports and accounts of witnesses from local fighters that “35 people, including children and women, were burned and killed by the military in Hapruso township on 24 December”.
Satellite data also showed that the fire broke out at Hpruso around 1:00 p.m. (0630 GMT) on Friday.
AFP was unable to confirm reports surrounding the clash, but AFP Digital Verification reporters said photos showing the incident had not appeared online before Friday evening.
Analysts have said the PDF groups have surprised the military with their effectiveness, as the military struggles to break through resistance to their regime.
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