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Reuters

At least 22 people, including three Buddhist monks, were shot dead at close range in central Myanmar last week, according to a doctor’s postmortem report, in what opponents of military rule say was a massacre of civilians conducted by the army.
A spokesman for Myanmar’s junta, which staged a coup two years ago to depose the elected government, said its troops had been involved in clashes with rebel fighters in the Pinlaung region of southern Shan state but had not harmed any civilians.
Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said in a statement the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) and another rebel group entered the village of Nan Neint after government forces arrived to provide security with a local people’s militia.
“When the terrorist groups violently opened fire … some villagers were killed and injured,” he said.
He did not respond to multiple calls from Reuters for further comment.
Reuters could not independently verify any of the claims.
Myanmar coup anniversary: ‘Hatred of junta’ mounts ahead of planned polls
A spokesman for the KNDF said its soldiers entered Nan Neint on Sunday and found dead bodies scattered at a Buddhist monastery.
Video and photographs provided by the KNDF and another group, the Karenni Revolution Union (KRU), showed bullet wounds to the torso and heads of the dead bodies and bullet holes in the walls of the monastery. Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of the material.
A postmortem report by Dr Ye Zaw, who is part of the National Unity Government, an exiled civil administration formed since the coup, said automatic weapons were likely used at close range to kill 22 people, including three saffron-robed monks.
“Since there were no military uniforms, equipment and ammunition found on the rest of the bodies, it is evident that they were civilians,” said the report, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters.
“Since all the dead bodies were found within the compound of Nan Nein monastery, it is evident that this was a massacre.”


Fighting has been raging in the area for at least two weeks, with about 100 structures burnt down in and around the site of the alleged massacre in Nan Neint, according to local media reports, resistance forces and satellite images verified by Myanmar Witness, an organisation that documents human rights violations.
The Southeast Asian country has been in crisis since the military seized power in February 2021, ending a decade of tentative steps towards democracy by unseating the administration led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Resistance movements, some armed, have emerged nationwide, which the military has countered with lethal force and labelled “terrorists”. Some ethnic military forces have also sided against the junta.
Asean has no licence to interfere in Myanmar’s internal affairs: Singapore
Aung Myo Min, the human rights minister in the National Unity Government, said the junta had ramped up combat operations and attacked groups of unarmed civilians in at least four instances in the last two weeks.
“It is clearly evident that the strategy of the junta is to target civilians, which is a crime against humanity,” he told reporters in an online media conference.
The junta has denied it targets civilians, saying its troops only respond to attacks by “terrorists”.
At least 3,137 people have been killed in the military crackdown since the coup, according to the non-profit Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
The United Nations has accused the military of war crimes and crimes against humanity.


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Myanmar

Myanmar junta accused of gunning down 22 people at monastery

Myanmar has been in crisis since the military seized power in 2021. File photo: AFP

Myanmar coup anniversary: ‘Hatred of junta’ mounts as military ruler Min Aung Hlaing plans polls

Members of the Myanmar military march during a parade to mark the country’s Independence Day in Naypyidaw on January 4, 2023. Photo: AFP

A protester holds a poster with an image of detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a candlelight vigil in March 2021 to honour those who have died during demonstrations against the military coup in Yangon. Photo: AFP

Myanmar’s military chief Min Aung Hlaing seized power in February 2021. Photo: AFP

Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing and Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in Vladivostok in September 2022. Photo: Sputnik/AFP

Myanmar junta ‘losing control’ as armed resistance digs in, rights experts say

Pprotesters step on a banner showing an image of Myanmar military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon. Photo: AFP

Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing attends a ceremony to mark Myanmar’s 77th Armed Forces Day in Naypyidaw in March 2002.  Photo: Myanmar Military Information Team/Handout via AFP

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attends a meeting with Myanmar’s military leader Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, on August 3, 2022. Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via Reuters

Asean has no licence to interfere in Myanmar’s internal affairs: Singapore

Protesters hold up three-finger salutes during a demonstration in Bangkok on February 1, 2023. Photo: AFP 

Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan underscored that Myanmar had been struggling to forge a common identity and bring its various component parts together since World War II. Photo: AP

Members of the Myanmar military march at a parade ground to mark the country’s Independence Day in Naypyidaw on January 4, 2023. Photo: AFP

Asean’s collective position is that the junta must abide by a peace plan, dubbed the Five-Point Consensus, agreed between the bloc and Myanmar military chief Min Aung Hlaing (above) to restore democracy. Photo: via AP

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

A postmortem report found automatic weapons were likely used in the killings at a Buddhist monastery in Shan state’s Nan Neint
The military said its troops were involved in clashes with rebel fighters but denied any role in the attack


A postmortem report found automatic weapons were likely used in the killings at a Buddhist monastery in Shan state’s Nan Neint.


War and conflict

Human rights