The Karenni State Police (KSP) have confirmed that 35 local civilians were burned alive by the Myanmar Army near Moso village in Phruso township, Karenni (Kayah) State and that 42 local residents were still missing.
U Bo Bo, a deputy state police chief of the Karenni State Police Force, told a January 3 news conference jointly held by the National Unity Government (NUG) and several local organizations about the massacre committed by Myanmar Army in Muso village, Phruso township.
Of the 42 missing civilians, 40 were men and two were women and their disappearance could be linked to the massacre by the Myanmar Army, according to Karenni police force.
"We have been reported that people are missing. According to the investigation, we listed 40 males and 2 females. A total of 42 people is known to be missing. However, at the time of the autopsy, there were only five female bodies, so there were only two female bodies on our list. So, the number of missing women may increase by three,” said the Karenni police.
The police force said that at least 35 Karenni residents were taken in cars and burnt to death by the Myanmar Army LIB 108 Battalion under Brigade (66) on a road 2 kilometres northwest of Moso village, Phruso township at around 10 am on December 24.
Among those killed were two Save the Children staff, who were providing humanitarian assistance to children. When the bodies of those burnt to death were collected by the members of Karenni Joint Defense Forces on December 27, three days after the massacre, 31 bodies could be recovered.
"We cannot tell the exact number of people who were burnt. If we touch it, it will be crushed, so we have to carry pieces of bodies (ash), not as a body,” said KSP.
Doctors who carried out an autopsy on 31 bodies of those burnt by Myanmar Army said 26 were male and five were female. Out of these , three were children including a young girl said to be under 12.
The doctors who carried out the autopsies said a number had their hands tied behind their backs and their mouths taped up.
NUG officials said in a press conference that they would continue to investigate those who were missing after a series of DNA tests, and that they would report to the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar so that those who committed the massacre can be prosecuted.
