Myanmar: The army is accused of executing 11 civilians

Soldiers in Myanmar are accused of arresting 11 people in a village in the central part of the country and executing them before setting their bodies on fire, according to locals and the media.

The charred bodies were found in the village of Shanghai, an area where fierce clashes are raging between the armed forces and militias created by opponents of the February 1 coup, residents said, adding that some of the victims were burned alive.

A video allegedly showing the charred corpses has been circulating on social media, and images have been leaked by some media outlets, including the Myanmar Now news website.

Reuters has not been able to confirm the authenticity of the photos or how the 11 people were killed.

A volunteer at a local aid organization, who asked not to be named, told Reuters by telephone that the army had invaded the village of Don Tau early Tuesday and that the victims had been killed at around 11am on the same day.

“The troops were just killing anyone they could find,” he said, adding that it was unclear whether the victims were members of the militia or civilians.

Myanmar is mired in chaos following the overthrow of Aung San Suu Kyi’s government army in February. Since then, demonstrations and mobilizations have taken place against the coup, while the militia of the People’s Defense Forces (PDF) has been created, which is fighting against the army.

Kiao Guna, a PDF member of the area, said the soldiers arrived at the village firing their weapons and transported those arrested to a nearby field where they were killed.

Another volunteer said about 3,000 people had fled their homes in five villages in the area and were hiding as they feared further arrests and killings.

A relative of one of the victims said that one of the dead, Het Ko, was a 22-year-old student and not a member of a militia, while he was not armed.

For his part, Dr. Sasha, a spokesman for Myanmar’s shadow political government that emerged after the coup, said the victims had been “tied up, tortured and eventually burned alive”.

In a post on Facebook, he mentioned the names of the 11 victims, all men. Among them was a 14-year-old teenager.

“These horrific attacks show that the military is not interested in human life,” he said.

The Association for the Aid of Political Prisoners (AAPP) has announced that more than 10,700 civilians have been arrested and 1,300 killed by security forces since the coup.

Source: AMPE