Myanmar’s military government troops stormed a village in the country’s central area on Friday, killing 19 residents, including four children, and burning their bodies., according to independent media and local NGOs.
The killings in Myanmar’s Bago Region, located in the southern central part of the country, may have been in retaliation for an attack by resistance elements opposed to army control.
According to a member of the locally formed People’s Defence Force quoted by Radio Free Asia, the killings occurred after fighting the same day between the army and his group and its allies from the Karen National Liberation Army, an ethnic rebel group that operates in the area. According to him, the rebel troops killed 20 soldiers and kidnapped three officers.
A farmer from the area told The Associated Press that the raid by roughly ten troops killed his wife, 7-year-old daughter, and nine other relatives.
The farmer, who requested anonymity because he feared prosecution, said he had been working in the fields and did not return on Wednesday after learning soldiers had stormed the area, so he did not witness the executions.
When he arrived the next day, his family members had vanished, and he discovered victims burnt beyond recognition in two locations across the little community.
“They can kill people as easily as they can kill a chicken or a bird.” On humanitarian grounds, they should have released the youngsters, who don’t comprehend anything,” the farmer remarked.
He claimed that 19 people were slain, and that they seemed to have been shot in the head before their bodies were burned with petrol and diesel fuel stolen from a village shop. He also stated that the soldiers enjoyed beer and alcoholic beverages.
Reports of the killings, as well as what appeared to be photos and videos of the victims’ remains, appeared in independent Myanmar media and social media on Friday, the same day a human rights monitoring group released a report charging that Myanmar’s military is deliberately carrying out atrocities, including beheadings, to instill terror in those fighting the army and an already dismayed public.
Myanmar Witness, a human rights organisation, singled out an army unit called the Ogre Column for its cruelty in the centre area of Sagaing, which is considered Myanmar’s traditional heartland.
Sagaing is a centre of armed opposition to the reigning military, which seized power from Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratic administration on February 1, 2021. The army’s seizure sparked widespread nonviolent protests, which were met with brutal force, sparking armed resistance across the country.
According to Myanmar Witness, at least 33 villagers were slain between late February and early April, with 12 of them being beheaded and two mutilated by the Ogre Column and other forces.
The majority of the beheaded victims were displayed in a horrific manner.
“In a number of these cases, people were killed and then beheaded.” “Because the beheadings serve no functional purpose, they serve as a dramatic and horrific warning to those who oppose military rule,” according to the article.
The Ogre Column is reported to be part of the army’s 99th Light Infantry Division.
The chief of the local defence force who incinerated the bodies of two beheaded teenagers slain by the Ogre Column in April told The Associated Press at the time that the Ogre Column “is harsher in killing than other groups of soldiers.”
The 99th Light Infantry Division, stationed in Sagaing’s neighbouring Mandalay district, and the No. 8 Military Training School in Sagaing’s Shwebo township have been frequently blamed by villagers for the majority of the killings, according to the article.
According to Myanmar Witness, the 99th Light Infantry Division has a history of violence, including allegations of involvement in a brutal 2017 counterinsurgency campaign in the western state of Rakhine that forced more than 700,000 Muslim Rohingya refugees to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh for safety.
Myanmar Witness stated that their findings are based on analyses of photographs and recordings of the incidents’ aftermath, as well as reports in both pro-military and alternative media.
Since the military takeover on February 1, 2021, the situation in Myanmar (previously known as Burma) has been defined by significant demonstrations and bloodshed.
The military, popularly known as the Tatmadaw, ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party. Since then, the military has been cracking down on protestors and dissenters, suppressing opposition with violence and intimidation.
The use of live bullets, tear gas, and other types of force on peaceful protesters has resulted in many deaths and injuries. Torture and arbitrary arrests and detentions have also been reported.
Many countries and international organisations have condemned the violence, and there have been calls for the military to resign and for democracy to be restored in Myanmar. The junta, on the other hand, has showed no signs of relenting, and the situation remains turbulent and unsettled.
Since the coup on February 1, 2021, Aung San Suu Kyi, the former leader of Myanmar’s democratically elected government, has been incarcerated by the military. She was placed under house arrest at first, but was later charged with a variety of offences, including breaking import-export restrictions and possessing unregistered communication equipment.
Aung San Suu Kyi was convicted of the accusations against her in June 2021 and sentenced to two years in prison. The trial was highly criticised for being politically motivated and lacking due process.
For many years, Aung San Suu Kyi has been a significant figure in Myanmar’s democratic movement and a symbol of resistance to military authority. Many countries and organisations have criticised her detention, and there have been calls for her release and the restoration of democracy in Myanmar.
Despite her imprisonment, Aung San Suu Kyi remains a popular and prominent person in Myanmar, with supporters both within and outside the nation.
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