A dozen men drinking their morning tea at a shop in central Myanmar were massacred by junta troops on Thursday for no apparent reason, local residents told Radio Free Asia, in the latest spasm of violence in the country’s civil war.
The victims – between the ages of 30 and 50 – were tied up and shot by column of 70 soldiers passing by the shop in Mandalay region’s Madaya township, along the Mandalay-Mogoke highway, a local resident said on condition of anonymity.
“These men, including the shop owner, were tied with their hands behind their backs before they were killed,” the resident said.
The junta troops were mobilized at around 6 a.m. to reinforce soldiers at the Pat Lei Inn outpost near the border of Madaya and Singu township, according to local defense forces.
At about 8 a.m., the column arrived at the tea shop, about 800 meters (a half-mile) from a conflict area, from where nearly 500 residents have fled fighting between junta troops and People’s Defense Force, or PDF, militia fighters, the resident told RFA.
Because soldiers took the mobile phones belonging to the men at the tea shop, the identities of the victims were still unknown, according to the resident.
RFA attempted to contact Thein Htay, the junta’s minister for economic affairs and the Mandalay regional spokesman, for comment on the tea shop massacre, but he didn’t answer phone calls on Thursday.
Airstrikes in Chin state kill 10 civilians
Also on Thursday, 10 civilians were killed when two junta airstrikes in southern Chin state struck six homes, a local resident said on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
“The victims included an entire family and some children,” the resident said. “The attack occurred without any battle.”
After the attack in Matupi township’s Vuilu village, the junta cut off mobile phone communications. The village has about 250 people and 70 households.
RFA attempted to contact Minister of Social Affairs Kyaw Soe Win, who is also the Chin state spokesman for the military junta, but he couldn’t be reached.
Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster .