Alleged massacre in Myanmar village highlights bitter fight

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BANGKOK – Outrage dispersed connected societal media successful Myanmar connected Wednesday implicit images and accounts of the alleged sidesplitting and burning of 11 villagers captured by authorities troops successful the country's northwest.

Photos and a video of charred corpses successful Done Taw colony successful Sagaing portion circulated wide Tuesday. They were said to beryllium person been taken soon aft the men were killed and their bodies acceptable connected fire.

The worldly could not beryllium independently verified. An relationship fixed to The Associated Press by a idiosyncratic who said helium went to the country mostly matched descriptions of the incidental carried by autarkic Myanmar media.

The authorities has not commented connected the allegations. If confirmed, they would beryllium the latest atrocity successful an progressively bitter conflict pursuing the military's seizure of powerfulness successful February and ouster of the elected authorities of Aung San Suu Kyi.

The takeover was initially met with nonviolent thoroughfare protests, but aft constabulary and soldiers utilized lethal unit against demonstrators, unit escalated arsenic opponents of subject regularisation took up arms successful aforesaid defense.

The witnesser who spoke to the AP said astir 50 troops marched into Done Taw colony astatine astir 11 a.m. Tuesday, seizing anyone who did not negociate to flee.

“They arrested 11 guiltless villagers,” said the witness, who described himself arsenic a husbandman and an activistic and asked to stay anonymous for his ain safety,

He added that the captured men were not members of the locally organized People’s Defense Force, which sometimes engages the service successful combat. He said the captives had their hands tied down them and were acceptable connected fire.

He did not springiness a crushed for the soldiers' assault. Accounts successful Myanmar media said they appeared to person acted successful retaliation for an onslaught earlier that greeting by People’s Defense Force members.

Other witnesses cited successful Myanmar media said the victims were members of a defence force, though the witnesser who spoke to the AP described them arsenic members of a little formally organized colony extortion group.

There are absorption activities successful the cities and the countryside, but the warring is deadliest successful agrarian areas wherever the service tin unleash greater unit against its targets. In caller months the conflict has been sharpest successful Sagaing and different areas of the northwest.

U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric expressed heavy interest astatine the reports “of the horrific sidesplitting of 11 people” and powerfully condemned specified violence, saying “credible reports bespeak that 5 children were among those radical killed.”

Dujarric reminded Myanmar’s subject authorities of their obligations nether planetary instrumentality to guarantee the information and extortion of civilians and called for those liable “for this heinous act” to beryllium held accountable.

He reiterated the U.N.’s condemnation of unit by Myanmar’s information forces and stressed that this demands a unified planetary response. As of Dec. 8, helium said, “security forces person killed much than 1,300 unarmed individuals, including much than 75 children, done their usage of lethal unit oregon portion successful their custody since the subject takeover connected Feb. 1.”

The alleged sidesplitting successful Done Taw was sharply decried by Myanmar’s underground National Unity Government, which has established itself arsenic the country’s alternate administrative assemblage successful spot of the military-installed government.

“On the 7th of December successful Sagaing region, sickening scenes reminiscent of the Islamic State violent radical bore witnesser to the the military’s escalation of their acts of terror,” the organization’s spokesperson, Dr. Sasa, said successful a statement.

“The sheer brutality, savagery, and cruelty of these acts shows a caller extent of depravity, and proves that, contempt the pretense of the comparative détente seen implicit the past fewer months, the junta ne'er had immoderate volition of deescalating their run of violence,” said Sasa, who uses 1 name.

The allegations travel Monday's condemnation of Suu Kyi connected charges of incitement and violating coronavirus restrictions and sentencing to 4 years successful prison, which was rapidly chopped successful half. The court's enactment was wide criticized arsenic a further effort by the country’s subject rulers to rotation backmost the antiauthoritarian gains of caller years.

In New York, the U.N. Security Council connected Wednesday expressed “deep concern" astatine the sentencing of Suu Kyi, ousted President Win Myint and others and reiterated erstwhile calls for the merchandise of each those arbitrarily detained since the Feb. 1 subject takeover.

“The members of the Security Council erstwhile again stressed their continued enactment for the antiauthoritarian modulation successful Myanmar, and underlined the request to uphold antiauthoritarian institutions and processes, refrain from violence, prosecute constructive dialog and reconciliation successful accordance with the volition and interests of the radical of Myanmar, afloat respect quality rights and cardinal freedoms and uphold the regularisation of law," a assembly connection said.

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