A merit-making ceremony between monks and the relatives of people killed in the Pazigyi Village massacre on the seventh day after their deaths was held over the phone, on 17 April.

The villagers are in hiding having fled their homes after the junta’s 11 April airstrike on Pazigyi Village in Sagaing Region’s Kantbalu Township that killed at least 170 people.

"The Pazigyi villagers are not at their homes anymore and they are now living in the forest. For the merit-making ceremony on 17 April, we were unable to invite the monks into the forest. Therefore, we made merit with them on the phone”, said a local volunteer.

According to a Burmese custom known as Yet Le Hsu, on the seventh day following a person's death the family of the deceased invites monks to their house, offers them a meal, host almsvgiving and libation ceremonies and listen to a sermon.

“We couldn’t hold Yet Le Hsu and give alms or food to monks on the seventh day after my younger brother’s passing because we are currently in hiding. We are in mourning and very sad. We are also having many difficulties with our living conditions and getting basic food items”, said a man whose 25-year-old younger brother was one of the airstrike victims.

Resistance forces called on people to switch off their lights and remain silent from 8:00 p.m. until 8:05 p.m. on 17 April in memory of those killed by the junta in the Pazigyi Village massacre.

According to a report by the National Unity Government (NUG) report the junta’s airstrikes on Pazigyi Village killed 168 people, including a six-year-old child, and injured 83 people, 16 of whom, including a six-month-old baby, are in a serious condition. More recent estimates now put the number of dead at 170 or 171 people.

According to the NUG Ministry of Health, more than 300 locals, including people who lost family members in the attack, have fled the area of Pazigyi Village and are in hiding. Many are also traumatised.