U.N official condemns reported killings in Myanmar

A senior U.N official said, he was horrified by the reported killing of at least 35 civilians in Myanmar and called on authorities to investigate the incident that opposition activists blamed on government soldiers.

U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths said, the reports of the killing of civilians, including at least one child, were credible.

“I condemn this grievous incident and all attacks against civilians throughout the country, which are prohibited under international humanitarian law,” he said.

Soldiers had fired on and killed an unspecified number of terrorists with weapons from forces fighting the military government.

Residents and a human rights group working in the area said soldiers had killed the civilians.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military on Feb. 1 overthrew the elected government of Nobel Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

More than 1,300 people have been killed in crackdowns on protests and more than 11,000 have been jailed, according to a tally by the Association for Assistance of Political Prisoners rights group.

Some opponents of the military have taken up arms, some linking up with ethnic minority guerrillas who have for years been fighting the government for self-determination in various parts of the country, including Kayah State in the east.

Griffiths called for a thorough and transparent investigation so the perpetrators could be brought to justice and called for the protection of civilians.

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Kamila/Reuters