Save the Children in turn attests to the horror that is raging in Burma. The NGO confirmed Tuesday that two of its employees were killed in a massacre in the east of the country. “It is with deep sadness that we confirm today that two members of the Save the Children teams were among at least 35 people, including women and children, who were killed on Friday, December 24 in an attack by the Burmese soldiers in Kayah state, ”she said in a statement.
Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun admitted on Saturday that clashes erupted in the area on Friday, and that soldiers killed a number of people, without giving further details. According to the Myanmar Witness Observatory, “35 people, including children and women, were burned and killed by the military on December 24 in Hpruso township.”
A previous alert in October
Save The Children said its two killed employees were very young fathers. One of the men was responsible for training teachers, the other had joined the NGO six years ago. “The soldiers forced people to get out of their cars, arrested some, killed many and burned their bodies,” added the NGO, which employs around 900 people in Burma and has decided to suspend its activities in Kayah State and several other regions.
“We are shocked by the violence against civilians and our staff, who are dedicated humanitarians, supporting millions of children in need across Burma,” said its Executive Director Inger Ashing. Already in October, the NGO declared that its office in the city of Thantlang, in the west of the country, had been destroyed by bombardments by the junta which had also razed dozens of houses following clashes with a local anti-junta group.
Washington is raising the tone
The United States, “alarmed by the brutality of the military regime”, on Tuesday called for the imposition of an arms embargo on the junta, in addition to the sanctions already in place. “It is unacceptable to target innocent people and aid workers, and the frequent atrocities by the military against the Burmese people show how urgent it is to hold them to account,” the chief said. of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken.
On Monday, the new UN special envoy for Burma, Noeleen Heyzer, also said she was “deeply concerned” by the escalation of violence in the country and called for a ceasefire between the junta and his opponents on the occasion of the new year. Burma has been in chaos since the February coup, and more than 1,300 people have been killed in the crackdown by the armed forces, according to a local NGO.