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Save the Children said two of its Myanmar staff were missing on Saturday, after the charred remains of more than 30 people were found, in an attack a monitoring group and local media blamed on junta troops.
Myanmar has been in chaos since the February coup, with more than 1,300 people killed in a crackdown by security forces, according to a local monitoring group.
“People’s Defence Forces” (PDF) have sprung up across the country to fight the junta, and have drawn the military into a bloody stalemate of clashes and reprisals.
On Saturday, photos appeared on social media purporting to show two burnt-out trucks and a car on a highway in Hpruso township in eastern Kayah state, with the charred remains of bodies inside.
A member of a local PDF group said its fighters had found the vehicles Saturday morning after hearing the military had stopped several vehicles in Hpruso after clashes with its fighters nearby on Friday.
“When we went to check in the area this morning, we found dead bodies burnt in two trucks. We found 27 dead bodies,” he told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“We found 27 skulls,” said another witness who did not want to be named.
“But there were other dead bodies on the truck, which had been burned to pieces so we couldn’t count them.”
Save the Children said later Saturday that two of its Myanmar staff had been “caught up” in the incident and were missing.
It added it had “confirmation that their private vehicle was attacked and burned out”.
The two had been travelling home after carrying out humanitarian work in the region, the charity said in a statement, adding it had since suspended its work in several regions.
“We are horrified at the violence carried out against innocent civilians and our staff, who are dedicated humanitarians, supporting millions of children in need across Myanmar,” chief executive Inger Ashing…
Source : france24
