BANGKOK - The international aid group Save the Children said two of its staffers were missing in a massacre in eastern Myanmar, which left more than 30 people dead and burned in their vehicles after being shot by government troops as they fled combat.
The accounts could not be independently verified. The photos showed the bodies of over 30 people in three burned-out vehicles.
On Sunday, the U.S. Embassy in Myanmar said it was appalled by the barbaric attack in Kayah state that killed 35 civilians, including women and children. It said in a statement that we will continue to press for accountability for the perpetrators of the ongoing campaign of violence against the people of Burma.
Save the Children said it was suspending operations in the region.
A villager who said he went to the scene told The Associated Press that the victims had fled to the fighting between armed resistance groups and Myanmar s army near Koi Ngan village, which is just next to Mo So. He said that they were killed after they were arrested by troops while they were heading to refugee camps in the western part of the township.
Save the Children said two of its staff who were traveling home for the holidays after conducting humanitarian response work in a nearby community were caught up in the incident and remain missing. The group said that their private vehicle was attacked and burned out. The military reportedly forced people from their cars, arrested some, killed others and burned their bodies. The government has not commented on the allegations, but a report from the state-owned Myanma Alinn daily newspaper said on Friday that the fighting near Mo So broke out when members of ethnic guerrilla forces, known as the Karenni National Progressive Party, and those opposed to the military drove in suspicious vehicles and attacked security forces after refusing to stop.
The newspaper report said they included new members who were going to attend training to fight the army, and that the seven vehicles they were traveling in were destroyed in a fire. It gave no more details about the killings.
The AP said the remains were burned beyond recognition, and children's and women's clothes were found together with medical supplies and food.
The witness said the bodies were tied with ropes before being set on fire because he feared for his safety.
He did not see the moment they were killed, but he said he believed some of them were Mo So villagers who were reportedly arrested by troops on Friday. He denied that those captured were members of locally organized militia groups.
On Friday, Myanmar s independent media reported that 10 Mo So villagers including children were arrested by the army. Four members of the local Border Guard Forces who went to negotiate for their release were reportedly tied up and shot in the head by the military.
The witnesses said that the villagers and anti-government militia groups left the bodies as military troops arrived near Mo So while the bodies were being prepared for cremation.
It is a heinous crime and the worst incident during Christmas. "We strongly condemn that massacre as a crime against humanity," said Banyar Khun Aung, director of the Karenni Human Rights Group.
Earlier in the month, government troops were accused of rounding up villagers, some believed to be children, tying them up and slaughtering them. An opposition leader, Dr. Sasa, said the civilians were burned alive, despite the fact that they had only one name.
A video of the aftermath of the Dec. 7 assault - apparently retaliation for an attack on a military convoy - showed the bodies of 11 people lying in a circle amid what appeared to be the remains of a hut.
Over the weekend, fighting resumed on the border with Thailand, where thousands of people fled to seek shelter. Local officials said Myanmar s military had fired airstrikes and heavy artillery on Lay Kay Kaw, a small town controlled by ethnic Karen guerrillas in neighboring Kayin state since Friday.
Around 4,700 evacuees from Myanmar were sheltered in three shelters across the border, according to the governor of Thailand's Tak province, Somchai Charoenkitroongroj. The sounds of gunfire and explosions could be heard across the river dividing the countries.
He ordered five border districts to prepare supplies and secure places to receive more refugees from Myanmar.
Myanmar's military action prompted several Western governments including the United States to issue a joint statement condemning serious human rights violations committed by the military regime across the country. The joint statement said that the regime should immediately cease its indiscriminate attacks in Karen state and throughout the country, and to ensure the safety of all civilians in line with international law.