BANGKOK: The charred remains of more than 30 people, including women and children, were found in burnt-out vehicles in Myanmar on Saturday, a rebel group and a monitor said, accusing the junta of the attack.

Myanmar has been in chaos since a coup in February, 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 on 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 said.

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2021