At least 35 bodies in charred vehicles: UN ‘horrified’ by massacre of civilians in Burma

UN Deputy Secretary-General Martin Griffiths said Sunday that he was “appalled by reports of an attack on civilians” in Burma on December 24. He described “credible” information about the discovery of “35 bodies” in burning cars in the northeast of the country, and continued, in a statement, “I condemn these serious facts” and “demand the authorities to open fire immediately.” A serious and transparent investigation.”

And pictures were published on social media, on Saturday, of two trucks and a car on fire on a road in the town of Habrosu in the eastern state of Kayah, with bodies inside. The leader of the rebels against the ruling military junta, the Popular Defense Forces (PDF), said he had found at least 27 bodies. According to the Myanmar Witnesses Observatory, “35 people, including children and women, were burned and killed by the army on December 24 in the town of Habrosu”. For his part, the spokesman for the Military Council, Zaw Min Tun, admitted that there had been clashes in the area on Friday, and that soldiers had killed a number of people, without giving further details.

1,300 civilians killed in ten months

Then the non-governmental organization Save the Children announced that two of its employees in Burma were “missing”. “I call on the Burmese forces and all armed groups in Burma to take all necessary measures to protect civilians,” said Martin Griffiths.

Burma has plunged into chaos since the coup in early February, which ended a 10-year period of democratic transition. Within 10 months, more than 1,300 civilians were killed, according to a local NGO, the Association to Aid Political Prisoners (AAPP). In response, civilian PDF militias sprang up in the country and regularly inflicted setbacks on the powerful Burmese army.