Myanmar’s envoy to the UN Kyaw Moe Tun on Tuesday sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres saying 40 bodies had been found in Kani township in July in the Sagaing area of northwestern Myanmar. Moe Tun, in the letter, indicated that the military junta was responsible for the deaths. The discovery of the bodies was reported by Myanmar’s local new website Irrawaddy on August 3.
The military junta, that took over Myanmar’s ruling on February 1 and since has detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi has denied the massacre, AFP reported.
Moe Tun’s letter mentions that in another village, 11 men, including a 14-year-old boy were set on fire and killed on July 28. Moe Tun, who has refused to leave his post despite being fired after the February coup, told AFP, “We cannot let the military keep on doing this kind of atrocity in Myanmar.”
The ambassador, in his letter, called for a global arms embargo on the junta and urged ‘urgent humanitarian intervention’ from the international community.
Moe Tun also said that US authorities have boosted his security after a threat was made against him.
On July 11 and 12, 16 bodies were found scattered in the jungle surrounding Yin village after villagers fled junta raids on July 8. And seven bodies were discovered on July 28 and five more were found on farms near Zee Pin Twin village on July 2, Irrawaddy reported—these findings were included in Moe Tun’s letter to UN chief Gutteres as well. The military leadership, on August 2 said that military rule would stay in place till 2023 and multi-party elections will be held in August 2023.
The country has been in a state of turmoil since the military crackdown on February 1. Several leaders of the Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy have been in detention since then. Protests continue as people face shortages of food, medicines and other essentials. There has been a surge in COVID-19 cases since the beginning of July. The US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on August 2 dismissed Myanmar Military Cheif Min Aung Hlaing’s election promise and said, that Myanmar's junta was playing for time with a two-year election timeframe.
The military crackdown so far has resulted in 900 civilian deaths due to clashes between protesters and military forces.
