The bodies of women, children, and the elderly, altogether about 30, were found in charred vehicles in northeastern Burma, in a village in predominantly Kayah state. Christian. The victims were reportedly burned to death on Christmas Eve, December 24. This attack is blamed on the junta in power in the country since the beginning of the year.
UN Deputy Secretary General Martin Griffiths said he was “horrified” on Sunday by the discovery in a statement. “I condemn these serious facts” and “call on the authorities to immediately launch a serious and transparent investigation”. Several NGOs and humanitarian associations alerted this weekend to this massacre. The NGO Save the Children, which defends children’s rights, announced on Saturday that two of its members had been “taken” and “missing”. Their vehicle was reportedly found among the burnt carcasses.
The junta admits deaths without details
“We are horrified by the violence targeting innocent civilians and our staff who are dedicated to humanitarian tasks, helping millions of children in need in Burma,” commented the leader of this century-old British NGO, Inger Ashing.
A spokesman for the junta, Zaw Min Tun, for his part admitted that clashes erupted in the area on Friday, and that the soldiers had killed a number of people, without giving further details. “I call on the Burmese forces and all armed groups in Burma to take all necessary measures to protect civilians,” said Martin Griffiths.
The French Embassy in Burma reacted on Twitter and said it was “appalled by the crimes perpetrated against children and unarmed civilians in the commune of Hpruso in the state of Kayah and by the disappearance of two employees of an organization non-governmental organization that supports populations in need ”.
Burma has sunk into chaos since the putsch in early February which ended a 10-year democratic transition. In 10 months, more than 1,300 civilians have been killed, according to a local NGO, the Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners (AAPP). In response, citizen militias rebel, such as the People’s Defense Forces (PDF), and regularly inflict setbacks on the powerful Burmese army.
Ten months after the military coup against her government, former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, is under house arrest.
In seeking to oust Aung Saan Suu Kyi and stifle his influence and party, the military may have opened Pandora’s box, with new, sometimes violent junta resistance gaining ground, experts interviewed say by AFP at the beginning of the month. These analysts point out that hundreds of people have gone to rebel-controlled areas to train for combat and respond to the army, going against the principle of non-violence advocated by Aung San Suu Kyi.