More than 30 people, including children, were killed and their bodies burned in Myanmar's conflict-torn Kayah state on Friday, according to local resident, media reports and a local human rights group.
The Karen Human Rights Group found bodies of internally displaced people killed by the military that rules Myanmar near Mo So village of Hpruso town on Saturday.
The group said in a Facebook post that they strongly denounced the inhumane and brutal killing that violates human rights.
The Myanmar military said it had shot and killed an unspecified number of terrorists with weapons from the opposition armed forces in the village. The people were in seven vehicles and did not stop for the military, it said.
The military could not be reached for comment.
Photos shared by the human rights group and local media showed the charred remains of bodies on burnt-out truckbeds.
The Karenni National Defence Force, one of the largest civilian militias opposing the junta that carried out a coup in February, said the dead were not their members but civilians seeking refuge from the conflict.
We were shocked at the fact that all the dead bodies were different sizes, including children, women and old people, said a commander who asked not to be named.
A villager said he was aware of a fire on Friday night but could not go to the scene as there was shooting.
I went to see this morning. He said he saw dead bodies that had been burnt and the clothes of children and women spread around the room, and that he told Reuters by phone.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, claiming fraud in an election her party won. International observers said the ballot was fair.
Civilians raged by the coup and subsequent crackdown on protesters have taken up arms. There are many local resistance forces that have sprung up across the country.
The military outlawed many opponents, labelling them traitors or terrorists, including a self-proclaimed national unity government that seeks to lobby the international community and prevent the junta from consolidating power.