A UNITED Nation official said he is “horrified” by credible reports that at least 35 civilians have been killed and their bodies burned in Myanmar, demanding the government launch an investigation.

Two workers for a non-profit group remain missing after their vehicle, among several others, was attacked and burned in the incident in Kayah.

A monitoring group and local media have blamed the attack on junta troops.

“I condemn this grievous incident and all attacks against civilians throughout the country,” said UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs Martin Griffiths in a statement.

He also called for “a thorough and transparent investigation”.

Myanmar has been in chaos since a coup in February, with more than 1,300 people killed in a crackdown by security forces, according to a local monitoring group.

“People’s Defence Forces” (PDF) have sprung up across the country to fight the junta, and have drawn the military into a bloody stalemate of clashes and reprisals.

On Saturday, photos appeared on social media supposedly showing two burned-out trucks and a car on a highway in Hpruso township in Kayah, with charred remains of bodies inside.

A local PDF group member said fighters found the vehicles on Saturday, after hearing that the military had stopped several vehicles in the township following clashes nearby on Friday.

“When we went to check the area this morning, we found dead bodies burnt in two trucks. We found 27 dead bodies,” he told AFP on condition of anonymity on Saturday.

“We found 27 skulls,” said another witness, who does not want to be named, adding that there are other dead bodies that cannot be counted.

Save the Children said two of its workers had been “caught up” in the incident and are missing.

The two had been travelling home after carrying out humanitarian work in the region, the charity said in a statement, adding it has since suspended work in several regions.

Myanmar’s junta had previously said its troops had been attacked in Hpruso on Friday, after attempting to stop seven cars driving in a “suspicious way”.

Spokesman Zaw Min Tun said troops killed a number of people in the following clash, without giving details.

The Myanmar Witness monitor confirmed local reports and witness accounts from local fighters “that 35 people, including children and women, were burnt and killed by the military on December 24 in Hpruso”.

It added that satellite data shows a fire had occurred around 1pm (0630 GMT) on Friday in the township.

AFP is unable to confirm the reports surrounding the clash, but its digital verification reporters said the images purporting to show the incident have not appeared online before Friday.

PDF groups have surprised the army with their effectiveness, said analysts, as the military struggles to break resistance to its rule. – AFP, December 27, 2021.