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Burned out vehicles in Hpruso on December 24th, 2021
Photo: Uncredited / dpa
In Myanmar, according to information from local human rights activists and media reports, the cremated bodies of around 35 people have been found.
The victims were civilians who wanted to flee their villages because of fighting, said a member of the Karenni Human Rights Group, who wanted to remain anonymous, told the German press agency.
The people were arrested and killed by soldiers from the military junta, added the human rights activist. He said he saw the charred bodies himself. Women and children were also among the victims. The incident occurred on Friday in the state of Kayah in the east of the country. The Karenni are an ethnic group in the multi-ethnic state of Myanmar.
Identical statements by local residents and corresponding media reports from Myanmar cannot be independently verified.
The Myanmar Witness organization, which claims to be collecting evidence of human rights violations in the country, confirmed a fire on Friday at 1:18 p.m. local time, but did not give the cause.
Another member of the Karenni Human Rights Group, citing local residents, said the junta had left cremated bodies near the village of Mu So in Hpruso Township.
“We found some cremated bodies with their hands tied behind their backs.
Our people were brutally killed, "said a member of the local resistance group of the German Press Agency.
"The civilians were collectively burned here." He added, "Some people before they died."
A representative of the rebel group fighting against the ruling military junta People's Defense Forces (PDF) told the AFP news agency that their fighters had found the vehicles.
There were 27 bodies in it.
Another witness said that "27 skulls" had been discovered, "but there were other bodies in the truck that were so charred that we could not count them."
Military newspaper writes about "terrorists"
The military-controlled newspaper "The Mirror Daily" reported that fighting broke out between military personnel and local resistance fighters in the municipality of Hpruso on Friday.
Seven trucks were shot at with "terrorists," as the military calls the local resistance forces.
A junta spokesman said there were clashes in Hpruso on Friday after soldiers tried to stop seven "suspicious" cars.
Several people were killed, the spokesman said without giving details.
The former Burma has been plunging into chaos and violence since a coup in February.
The military had ousted the de facto head of government Aung San Suu Kyi and has ruled with an iron fist ever since.
Any resistance is suppressed with brutal severity.
Local armed forces have formed in many parts of the South Asian country to resist the junta.
There are repeated reports of serious human rights violations in the crisis country.
Protests have raged across the country since the coup and more than 1,300 people were killed and more than 10,000 arrested when they were cracked down.
More than 20 rebel groups are fighting the military in the country.
dab / dpa / AFP