Two members of the international humanitarian group Save the Children are missing after Myanmar government troops rounded up villagers, some believed to be women and children, fatally shot more than 30 and burned bodies, according to a witness and other reports.
Photos of the aftermath of the Christmas Eve massacre in Moso, a village in the country east, just outside Hpruso township in Kayah state where refugees were sheltering from an army offensive, have been posted on social media in the country, sparking outrage against the military that took power in February.
The accounts could not be independently verified. The photos showed the bodies of more than 30 people in three burned-out vehicles.
A villager who said he went to the scene told the Associated Press that the victims had fled the fighting between armed resistance groups and Myanmar s army near Koi Ngan village, which is just beside Moso. He said they were killed after being arrested by troops while they were on their way to refugee camps in the western part of the township.
Save the Children said two of its staff traveling home for the holidays after carrying humanitarian response work in a nearby community were caught up in the incident and remain missing. The group added in a statement that their private vehicle was attacked and burned out. Some of the military reportedly forced people from their vehicles, arrested others, burned their bodies and forced others to leave their cars. The government hasn't commented on the allegations, but a report in the state-owned Myanma Alinn daily newspaper on Saturday said that the fighting near Moso broke out on Friday 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 reported that seven of the seven vehicles they were traveling in were destroyed in a fire. It gave no more details about the killings.
The witness who spoke to 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 witnesses said the bodies were tied with ropes before being set on fire because he feared for his safety.
He did not see the moment when they were killed, but he believed that some of them were Moso villagers who were reportedly arrested by troops on Friday. He denied that those captured were members of local militia groups.
On Friday, Myanmar s independent media reported that 10 Moso villagers, including children, were arrested by the army. Four members of a local military group who went to negotiate for their release were reportedly shot and tied in the head by the military.
The villagers and anti-government militia groups left as military troops arrived near Moso while bodies were being prepared for cremation, the witness said. The fighting was still going strong near the village.
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 Karen Human Rights Group.
The government troops were accused earlier this month of tying up villagers, some believed to be children, 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 7 December attack was apparently retaliated for an attack on a military convoy, showing the bodies of 11 people lying in a circle amid what appeared to be the remains of a hut.
On Saturday, fighting resumed in a neighbouring state that borders Thailand, where thousands of people have fled to seek shelter. Local officials said Myanmar's military had unleashed airstrikes and heavy artillery on Lay Kay Kaw, a small town controlled by ethnic Karen guerrillas since Friday.
The military action caused several western governments, including the US embassy, to issue a joint statement condemning serious human rights violations committed by the military regime across the country. We call on the regime to 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, the joint statement said.