After government forces killed and wounded dozens of civilians on Friday, two Save the Children workers are now missing from Myanmar.
A witness said that the Myanmar government had taken a group of villagers and shot and burnt more than thirty.
Photos purportedly showing the aftermath of Christmas Eve’s massacre in Mo So, eastern Mo So were shared on social media. This fueled outrage at the February coup that brought down the power of the military.
Mo So village, just outside Hpruso Township in Kayah state was where refugees were seeking shelter from an Army offensive.
They could not be verified independently. Photos showed over thirty people with charred bodies in their three-burned vehicles.
According to local monitoring groups, Myanmar is in turmoil since February’s coup. More than 1,300 have been killed during a crackdown led by security forces.
People’s Defence Forces have been formed in various parts of the country to oppose the junta. This has led to a deadlock between the military and the people.
Pictured are burned vehicles in Hpruso Township in Myanmar’s Kayah, where at least 30 people including children and women were killed by the Government forces on Friday. Since then, two Save the Children workers have gone missing.
The Associated Press was told by a villager that he saw the scene. It stated that the victims were fleeing fighting between armed resistance groups in Myanmar and Myanmar’s army at Koi Ngan village. This village is right beside Mo So.
They were taken into custody by soldiers as they headed to the refugee camps located in the west part of township. He claimed that they had been killed.
Save the Children stated that its two staff members who had returned from humanitarian work in the community and were returning home to celebrate the holidays were “caught up” in the incident.
“We have confirmed that their private car was attacked and burnt out,” the group said in a statement. “The military apparently forced people out of their cars and arrested, murdered, and then burned their bodies.
Inger Ashing (Chairman of Save the Children) said that they were horrified by the acts against civilians.
Saturday’s incident was described by a villager who said he saw 32 bodies. Save the Children, however, stated that at most 38 victims were dead.
Pictured: Smokes and flames billow from vehicles in Hpruso township, Kayah state, Myanmar, December 24, 2021, in this picture released by the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force
Myanmar’s government troops killed more than 30 people, according to witnesses and other reports.
Mo So village is located just outside Hpruso Township in Kayah state, where refugees were seeking shelter from an offensive by the army.
It stated that it was ceasing operations in Kayah, parts of the neighboring Karen state, and in Magway.
According to a report published in Saturday’s state-run Myanma Alinn newspaper, fighting broke out near Mo So on Friday.
The Karenni National Progressive Party (ethnic guerrilla group) and other opponents to the military were accused of driving in suspicious vehicles, attacking security forces and attacking them after they refused to stop.
A newspaper reported that they contained new recruits who were attending army training and that seven of their vehicles were set on fire. The newspaper did not provide any further information about the murders.
According to a member of a PDF local group, the fighters discovered the vehicles after being informed by the military that they had stopped several vehicles near Hpruso on Friday after fighting with their fighters.
‘When we went out to inspect the area, we found bodies that had been burned in 2 trucks. On condition of anonymity, he said that he found 27 dead bodies.
Another witness, who declined to be identified, said that they had found 27 skulls.
“But, there were still other bodies in the truck. They had all been destroyed so that we could not count them.”
Myanmar Witness monitored said that it verified local media reports, witness accounts and local fighters’ claims that ’35 people, including women and children were burned and killed by military personnel on the 24th of December Hpruso village’.
Satellite data indicated that there was a fire at Hpruso around noon (0630 GMT), it said.
The AFP news agency could not confirm these reports. However, AFP digital verification reporters stated that images purportingly to depict the incident hadn’t appeared online prior to Friday night.
The claims were rejected by the Myanmar military.
Fighting between the military (KNU), and the Karen National Union (military) has caused many to flee their homes. They gathered to get food at temporary shelters for internally displaced (IDPs) located in Karen state. This is just a few kilometers from the Thai-Myanmar border.
On December 25, 2021, people fleeing fighting between the military, the Karen National Union, (KNU), ride in boats across a river in Karen State, near the Thai-Myanmar border.
According to a witness, the remains had been burned beyond recognition and the clothing of children and women was found with food and medical supplies.
“The bodies were bound with ropes, and set on fire,” said the witness. The witness spoke only because he was afraid for his safety.
Although he didn’t see them die, he said that a few of the victims were Mo So villagers who were reportedly detained by soldiers on Friday.
He said that the captured men were not members of local militia groups.
Myanmar’s Independent Media reported Friday that 10 Mo So Villagers, including children, were detained by the army. Four members of the paramilitary Border Guard Forces were also arrested. The Border Guard Forces were trying to negotiate for their release and were then reportedly tied up by the military and shot in the head.
According to the witness, the bodies were left behind by residents and militias opposed to the government as soldiers arrived at Mo So. It was still a battle for the village.
“It was a terrible crime and one of the worst Christmas incidents.” Banyar Khun Aung from the Karenni Human Rights Group, said, “We strongly condemn this massacre as a crime împotriv humanity.”
In addition to catching villagers (some of whom were children), government soldiers are also being accused of tying up the victims and killing them. A Dr. Sasa (an opposition leader) said that the civilians had been burned to death.
Fluchting from fighting between military and Karen National Union (KNU), people board a boat at Karen state on the Thai-Myanmar border on December 25, 2021
The aftermath of the 7 December assault, which appeared to have been in reprisal against an attack on a military convoy, showed 11 dead bodies lying in a circular formation amid the remains of what appears to be a hut.
Meanwhile, fighting resumed Saturday in the neighboring state at Thailand’s border. Thousands fled for safety.
According to officials locals, Myanmar’s military has launched heavy artillery and airstrikes on Lay Kay Kaw since Friday. Lay Kay Kaw is a tiny town under control of ethnic Karen guerrillas.
Multiple Western governments, including the U.S. Embassy, issued a joint condemnation of the military’s actions across the country.
The joint statement stated that they called on the regime “to immediately cease all indiscriminate attacks against Karen state, as well as throughout the country,” and for civilian safety in accordance with international law.
Myanmar is in chaos since February 1, when the military overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government. Aung San Suu Kyi has been sentenced for four years and also faces numerous other criminal charges.
A tally by the Association for Assistance of Political Prisoners shows that at least 1375 people have been killed since the coup and more than 8000 are in jail for crackdowns on protests.
According to the military government, these numbers are not accurate and soldiers were also killed during clashes.
Save the Children reported in October that its Thantlang office was damaged in junta bombardment. This also followed clashes between a local anti-junta faction and the razing of dozens more homes.