Myanmar’s military-installed government has described as “fake news” reports that its troops were involved in a widely reported massacre in the country’s northwest in which soldiers allegedly rounded up and killed 11 civilians whose charred bodies were later discovered by fellow villagers.
A story in Friday’s edition of the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper accused “the nation-destroying media” of spreading a video that misrepresented the massacre as having been carried out by Myanmar security forces.
“The initial on-ground investigation revealed that such a video file was not (at all) related to undertakings of the Tatmadaw and that it was a conspiracy to tarnish the image of the Tatmadaw,” the report said, using the formal name for the country’s military. It gave no further details about the killings.
“The video has been immediately and widely circulated on social media because of a conspiracy by local and international connections,” the report said.
Photos and video of smoldering corpses in Done Taw village in Sagaing region circulated widely, sparking outrage. They were said to be have been taken shortly after the men were killed and their bodies set on fire.
Independent media in Myanmar, generally forced to operate underground due to government restrictions and intimidation, issued accounts of the killings based on interviews with witnesses and residents of the area. Their reports said it was believed to have been in retaliation for an attack on government forces by members of a local unit of the People’s Defense Force, a lightly armed militia that confronts security forces.
Myanmar’s military has long had a reputation for brutality, historically directed toward ethnic minorities in border regions. But since February’s army takeover ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, the military's lethal tactics have been applied against opponents throughout the country.
Resistance activities have been taking place in the cities and the countryside, but the fighting is deadliest in rural areas where the army has unleashed greater force. In recent months the fighting has been sharpest in Sagaing and other areas of the northwest.
Friday’s story, which was headlined “Press Release on Misinformation and Disinformation Appearing on Social Media,” accused unnamed countries “wishing to disintegrate Myanmar” of inciting bloodshed to spread hatred and to escalate the conflict.
“In such doing, they provided fake news about the casualties of security forces in order to inspire and motivate terrorists and their supporters,” it said, referring to allegations of killings by the army.
It alleged there was a conspiracy “spending a huge amount of money and providing technical support to spreading misinformation across social media in synchronization domestically and internationally.”
The same report in Friday’s newspaper cited an incident on Sunday in which a military vehicle deliberately plowed into a small group of non-violent pro-democracy protesters in Yangon, the country’s biggest city. Witnesses said that at least three people appeared grievously injured, and photos showed them lying in the street. News reports said it appeared that three to five people had been killed in the attack.
The report accused the protesters of consisting of “terrorists, and would be transforming into terrorism,” said that security forces ”have to undertake counterterrorism measures."
BANGKOK (AP) — About 1,300 people have fled from eastern Myanmar into Thailand, officials said Saturday, as fresh fighting erupted at a border town that has recently been captured by ethnic guerillas.
Fighters from the Karen ethnic minority last week captured the last of the Myanmar army’s outposts in and around Myawaddy, which is connected to Thailand by two bridges across the Moei River.
The latest clashes were triggered in the morning when the Karen guerillas launched an attack against Myanmar troops who were hiding near the 2nd Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge, a major crossing point for trade with Thailand, said police chief Pittayakorn Phetcharat in Thailand's Mae Sot district. He estimated about 1,300 people fled into Thailand.
Thai officials reported people had started crossing since Friday following clashes in several areas of Myawaddy.
The fall of Myawaddy is a major setback for the military that seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021. Myanmar’s once-mighty armed forces have suffered a series of unprecedented defeats since last October, losing swathes of territory including border posts to both ethnic fighters, who have been fighting for greater autonomy for decades, and pro-democracy guerrilla units that took up arms after the military takeover.
The clashes, involving drone attacks from the Karen forces and airstrikes by the Myanmar military, had subsided by noon Saturday compared to the morning, but Mae Sot police chief Pittayakorn Phetcharat said he could still hear sporadic gunshots. He said Thai authorities would move people fleeing into a safer area.
Footage from the Thai border showed Thai soldiers maintaining guard near the bridge with sounds of explosions and gunshots in the background. People with children waded across the river with their belongings and were received by Thai officials on the river bank. Several are seen taking shelter in buildings along the river bank on the Myanmar side.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin wrote on the social media platform X on Saturday that he was closely monitoring the situation at the border.
“I do not desire to see any such clashes have any impact on the territorial integrity of Thailand and we are ready to protect our borders and the safety of our people. At the same time, we are also ready to provide humanitarian assistance if necessary,” he wrote.
In March, Thailand delivered its first batch of humanitarian assistance to Myanmar for about 20,000 displaced people.
Nikorndej Balangura, a spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters on Friday that Thailand is currently working to expand its aid initiative.
People cross the Moei river as they flee Myawaddy township in Myanmar to Thailand's Mae Sot town in Thailand's Tak province, Saturday, April 20, 2024. About 1,300 people have fled from eastern Myanmar into Thailand, officials said Saturday, as fresh fighting erupted near a border town that has recently been captured by ethnic guerillas. (AP Photo/Warangkana Wanichachewa)
A Thai military armored vehicle takes a position with sounds of explosions and gunshots along the Moei river, under the 2nd Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge in Mae Sot in Thailand's Tak province Saturday, April 20, 2024. About 1,300 people have fled from eastern Myanmar into Thailand, officials said Saturday, as fresh fighting erupted near a border town that has recently been captured by ethnic guerillas. (AP Photo/Warangkana Wanichachewa)
People cross the Moei river as they flee Myawaddy township in Myanmar to Thailand's Mae Sot town in Thailand's Tak province, Saturday, April 20, 2024. More than a thousand people have fled from eastern Myanmar into Thailand on Saturday as fresh fighting erupted near the border of the town that has recently been captured by guerillas from the Karen ethnic minority, officials said.(AP Photo/Warangkana Wanichachewa)
