The military set a village in central Myanmar on fire after a clash with opponents, leaving at least two elderly people burned to death, according to several people who lived in the village.

News of the violence allegedly committed by the military came as protests against the February 1 coup continued, with dozens of protesters in motorcycles holding a dawn strike in Kachin State and hundreds of people marching in Hpakant Township in Sagaing Region, as well as in Dawei in Tanintharyi Region on Thursday.

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MRTV state television said the blaze on Tuesday at Kin Ma, a village of about 800 people in the Magway Region, was caused by “terrorists” and that media who reported otherwise were “deliberately plotting to discredit the military”.

The Reuters news agency was unable to independently verify the cause of the blaze. A military spokesman did not answer calls requesting comment.

All that remained of Kin Ma on Wednesday was about 30 houses, with some 200 homes reduced to piles of ash and bricks, according to several villagers who gave accounts of the incident by telephone and photographs seen by Reuters.

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The blaze was large enough to be recorded by NASA’s satellite fire-tracking system at 9:52pm (15:22 GMT) on Tuesday.

The villagers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that security forces set the fires after confronting opponents of the coup and that at least two people were killed.

A 32-year-old volunteer assisting people displaced from the village said the two dead were elderly residents who had been unable to escape their home during the fire. He said some people returned to the village on Wednesday and found the bodies.

Sorgente: Myanmar security forces blamed for burning down village in Magway | Military News | Al Jazeera

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