Orders Investigation Of Murder Of 35 Burmese Civilians By Military, UN Deputy Secretary-General: I Condemn This Incident

Vehicles set ablaze by soldiers of the Myanmar military regime. (Source: The Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF) via Myanmar Now)

JAKARTA - A senior UN official said he was horrified by reports of the killing of at least 35 civilians in Myanmar, calling on authorities to investigate incidents that opposition activists blamed by the military regime.

The ruling military has not yet commented on the incident near Mo So Village, Kayah State on Friday, with junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun unable to be reached for comment.

State media reported the army had shot and killed an unspecified number of "terrorists with weapons" from forces fighting the military government. State media said nothing about civilian casualties.

In this regard, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said reports of killings of civilians, including at least one child, were credible.

"I condemn this sad incident and all attacks on civilians across the country, which are prohibited under international humanitarian law," he said in a statement.

Griffiths called for a thorough and transparent investigation so the perpetrators could be brought to justice and called for the protection of civilians.

Residents and human rights groups working in the area said the army had killed civilians. Photographs uploaded by rights groups showed charred bodies, some in the back of a burning truck.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military on February 1 toppled the elected government, under Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

More than 1,300 people have died in the crackdown on protests and more than 11,000 have been jailed, according to a tally by rights group Association for the Assistance of Political Prisoners (AAPP). Meanwhile, the military regime denied the group's death toll.

To note, a number of opponents of the military have taken up arms, some joining ethnic minority guerrillas who have for years fought the government for self-determination in various parts of the country, including Kayah State in the east.

Meanwhile, aid group Save the Children said two of its workers, who were traveling to their home village for year-end holidays, were missing in the attack. It suspended operations in Kayah State and parts of the adjacent Karen State and Magway region.

The Myanmar Coup. VOI editors continue to unify the political situation in one of the ASEAN member countries. Civilian casualties continued to fall. Readers can follow news about the Myanmar military coup by this link.