This is how the UN human rights watchdog for Myanmar described a mass murder being investigated by Sky News. The massacre took place near Mo So in Kayah state on Christmas Eve, leaving at least 37 dead. Image: The attack took place in Kayah State, north of Yangon, the country’s largest city It is an area that has seen fierce fighting between the local militia and the army. The military regime claims that those killed were suspected terrorists. Two employees of the charity Save the Children appear to be among the dead. According to doctors, other victims include at least one child between the ages of 10 and 15 and a man with a disability. Many of the bodies were burned so badly in the attack that it was difficult to confirm all the violence caused. Image: Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, said the deaths had “the characteristics of a war crime”. After watching the Sky News report, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, said: “The film I just saw is just scary and unfortunately not uncharacteristic. “This is the kind of barbarism we have seen in various parts of Myanmar. The Myanmar army is known for this. “They are ruthless … we need to investigate it fully. But these have all the hallmarks of a war crime.” Image: Vehicles can be seen among the burnt debris. Photo: KNDF Since the February 2021 coup, Myanmar has been ousted by violence. On the one hand: the army or the junta, which claimed electoral fraud and overthrew the government to take power. On the other hand: protesters, armed groups and militias who say they are fighting for democracy. In an effort to find out more about how the violence unfolded, Sky News teams in Myanmar, Thailand and London analyzed images and located family members and witnesses. We also worked with Myanmar Witness, a human rights NGO in Myanmar. WARNING: This article contains a number of images of violence and corpses Police confirmed that a 28-year-old man named Lee Reh was among the dead. Image: Lee Rech was described by his family as a hard worker. Photo: Family booklet Described as a hardworking family man, his siblings explained that Li Re was easy to identify as his left arm was not fully developed when he was born. On December 24, we were told he left home on a motorbike around 8am. Image: Lee Re left his house to buy a car with a friend Go with a friend to buy a car. By 10 a.m., the junta had confirmed that soldiers were stopping people on a street near Mo So. Image: People traveling on a road near the village of Mo So stopped on Christmas morning It’s the road that Li Re is believed to have traveled. Around the same time, four members of the local junta Allied Border Guard Force (BGF) were sent to the checkpoint for investigation, as alleged. Image: Four Border Guard troops left the base (indicated by the small yellow square) and were sent to investigate what was happening at the checkpoint What happened in the next few hours at that checkpoint in Mo So is hard to put together. No casualties were reported. The local militia told me that after learning that the junta forces were in the area, they arrived at the scene of the killings around 11.15 and saw vehicles burning. Shadows in footage from a militia drone analyzed by Myanmar Witness experts suggest it was shot a little later, around 11.30am. Image: A car we identified as the one driven by two Save the Children staff members is on fire. Photo: KNDF In the video, the Save the Children car is burning while other trucks are just smoking, suggesting that the fires started quite recently. Image: Smoke appears to be coming from three trucks. Photo: KNDF That day, rebel fighters at the site say they found the bodies of the four border guards. Shots show that their hands were tied with a rope and they were shot. Picture: The rope looks neatly tied around the wrists of these men. Photo: Khit Thit media It was only on Christmas Day, when the fires were extinguished, that the rebel units said they had returned and found 31 bodies that had been severely burned. Three bags of body parts were later collected from the scene, according to police. Our teams located a doctor who helped with the autopsies. Hidden, he described some of the injuries inflicted on the victims. We changed his name for protection. Dr A explained: “The skulls were completely broken. Maybe they were shot or hit with something. And, in the chest and back, there are some stab wounds with a sharp object. “There were bullet holes in the bodies and most of the bodies were tied up. “I have never seen anything like it in my whole life. [People] they tied him up and killed him. “ Image: Li Reh, 28, disappeared after going out to buy a car. Photo: Family booklet On Christmas day, Li Reh’s family was terrified. No one had managed to catch him and his motorcycle was photographed among the wreckage. Image: Li Reh’s bicycle was found burned among the other vehicles. Photo: KSP When his relatives called him, they said he had received a strange voice – a voice believed to belong to a junta soldier. Following the deaths, Myanmar’s military said in a statement that on Christmas Eve, soldiers near Mo So tried to stop seven vehicles believed to be linked to an alleged terrorist plot. He claims that the people inside were attacked with bombs and weapons and so the security forces responded. A battle ensued and the vehicles caught fire. The army said it tried to save people. However, the data seen by Sky News raises new questions. Image: A doctor who helped with the autopsies spoke to Sky News anonymously Dr A said many of the victims’ hands were tied and some bodies were found outside the vehicles, contradicting the idea that they died while driving. The regime claimed that the people killed were suspected terrorists – so how do you explain the deaths of two charitable workers and at least one child? And there are more. Thirteen days after the massacre, on January 6, 2022, rebel fighters say they discovered two corpses dressed in local militia uniforms near the burned vehicles. The uniforms matched photos previously released by the military media of two “enemies” allegedly involved in the Mo Soo attack. We decided to include these images of corpses at this point in this article, as they are part of the evidence that helps provide a picture of what happened that day. And there are specific details in the pictures, as we will explain, which are also important elements. Image: The military media published photos of two “enemies” who allegedly took part in the attack on Mo So. Photo: The Mirror Daily Further examination of the two bodies raised suspicions. Sky News took photos taken during the autopsy, which showed the men under the uniforms dressed in civilian clothes. Both were shot. But the officers told us that there were no bullet holes or blood in the men’s uniforms. In the images of the state media of the “enemies”, the placement of the weapon seems unnatural, potentially positioned for the photo. Image: A gun appears to have been placed over the dead man. Photo: Myanmar military When our team adjusted the contrast to the photo of one of the “enemies”, we discovered that the blur had faded. He revealed that one of the alleged soldiers was missing his left arm. Image: Adjusting the contrast, the blur weakens and shows that the man does not have a left hand. Photo: Myanma Alinn It appeared to be Lee Rech, who disappeared on December 24. We showed the photo to his brother and sister who were both adamant that he was not a rebel. Image: Lee Rech was born without a left hand. Photo: Family booklet “He is not affiliated with any organization,” said his sister. His brother told him he could not hold a gun. Instead, his family claims that junta soldiers flanked Lee Re and dressed him to make him look like a rebel fighter. Image: Li Reh’s family was terrified after his disappearance. Photo: Family booklet “They [the junta] used Li Reh’s body to say he was from the KNPP [rebel force]. They just wanted to clear the data. “That’s why they put the uniform on Lee Rech,” said his brother. We gave this information to the military government, but so far it has not responded. Tom Andrews told Sky News: “The very fact that it looks like they tried to make these innocent people, these humanists look like they were fighters. “There is clearly something in the minds of these commanders that this is a war crime. This is proof of a war crime.” He added: “I am afraid that if there is no change of course, including a change of course from how the international community responds to this, things will become exponentially worse.” The full scale of what happened in Mo Soo is still unfolding. So far police say 40 people are missing. Those responsible for the Christmas Eve killings in Myanmar may never be brought to justice. Contributors: Journalists Siobhan Robbins, Southeast Asia Correspondent Sania Bergez, Data and Criminology Unit Victoria Elms, Data and Criminology Unit Thanks to Myanmar Witness, an NGO that records human rights incidents in Myanmar. ProducersRachel Thompson, Southeast Asia ProducerCape Diamond, Myanmar ProducerAung Khant, Myanmar Producer Graphic…
