Myanmar troops burn alive 11 in retaliatory attack

In this image from video taken Dec. 7, a bloodstain is seen on the ground near charred corpses in Done Taw village. Pic/AP

Myanmar government troops raided a small northwestern village, rounding up civilians, binding their hands and then burning them alive in apparent retaliation for an attack on a military convoy, according to witnesses and other reports. A video of the aftermath of Tuesday's attack showed the charred bodies of 11 victims, some believed to be teenagers, lying in a circle amid what appeared to be the remains of a hut in Done Taw village in Sagaing region.

Outrage spread as the graphic images were shared on social media over what appeared to be the latest of increasingly brutal military attacks in an attempt to put down stiffening anti-government resistance following the army takeover in February. Human Rights Watch called Thursday for the international community to ensure that commanders who gave the order are added to targeted sanctions lists, and more broadly, efforts are stepped up to cut off any source of funding to the military.

"Our contacts are saying these were just boys and young people who were villagers who were caught in the wrong place at the wrong time," a spokeswoman for the group, Manny Maung, said. She added that similar incidents have been occurring regularly, but that this one happened to be caught on camera. "This incident is quite brazen, and it happened in an area that was meant to be found, and seen, to scare people," she said.

The images could not be independently verified, but an account given to The Associated Press by a person who said he was present when they were taken generally matched descriptions of the incident carried by independent Myanmar media. The government has denied that it had any troops in the area. The military ouster of the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi was initially met with nonviolent street protests, but after police and soldiers responded with lethal force, violence escalated as opponents of military rule took up arms in self-defense.

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