Myanmar's ruling junta has been accused of attempting to cover up the massacre of at least 22 villagers, staging photos with weapons planted on corpses and claiming the dead were resistance fighters.
WARNING: This story contains images and descriptions of graphic violence that may distress some readers.
According to Myanmar Witness — which analysed photos and videos taken during the March 11 attack in the small southern Shan state settlement of Nan Neint — there were multiple indications of an attempt to hide the truth of what happened.
It concluded that these included the apparent staging of images to give the appearance of a gunfight.
"An analysis of the weapons indicates the possibility that they were placed next to the deceased individuals after their deaths," Myanmar Witness said.
"The guns do not appear bloody and they appear to be placed next to or on top of the individuals. This could indicate that the images were staged."
The junta later denied killing the villagers, including at least three robed monks.
Myanmar Witness said the weapons seen on the first set of images of the attack to appear — which were uploaded to a pro-military Telegram channel — had been removed when resistance forces moved in once the junta had left.
"The images also show bullet marks in the walls and blood splatters. This could indicate that the individuals were shot at close range," Myanmar Witness said.
"The individuals pictured in many of the images are dressed in civilian clothing and some appear to be middle-aged or elderly, as seen by their facial features."
Myanmar Witness collects, verifies and analyses evidence of human rights incidents in Myanmar.
It is an initiative of the UK-based Centre for Information Resilience, which receives funding from the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office as well as from Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Last week, the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy on Myanmar, Noeleen Heyzer, said the Myanmar military had intensified its use of force since its extension of the state of emergency on February 1.
That included bombings, burning of civilian infrastructure "and other grave human rights violations to maintain its grip on power", she told the UN General Assembly.
Ms Heyzer said the regime's "four cuts" strategy — blocking access to food, funds, information and recruits — had also been used to target civilians as collective punishment.
The junta seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February, 2021.
Junta blames 'terrorists' for deaths
Graphic images of the attack show the "remains of both armed and unarmed individuals who appear to have been shot and killed in Nam Neint village", Myanmar Witness said.
"In the photos posted to the pro-military Telegram channel, it is implied that the victims were all [members of resistance group People's Defence Force], killed by the military," Myanmar Witness said.
"However, the lack of combat gear, potential staging of arms within the photos and the presence of three individuals in monk's robes, could signal that these were civilians.
"While the perpetrators cannot be conclusively identified, there is information to suggest that the Myanmar military were present in the area."
The junta does not deny its presence in the village at the time of the attack, but has said its soldiers were fighting rebels and had not harmed any civilians.
Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) and another rebel group entered Nan Neint after government forces arrived to provide security with a local people's militia.
"When the terrorist groups violently opened fire … some villagers were killed and injured," he said.
He said the army had only counterattacked against resistance groups, and dismissed reports that soldiers were responsible for killing villagers as "misinformation".
A local resistance leader told Reuters his group's snipers had used rifle scopes to watch about 100 soldiers firing their guns and torching houses as they entered the village.
He said the snipers had to withdraw after being attacked by government aircraft.
The Karenni guerilla — who asked not to be identified because of fear of reprisals by the military — said his forces had not witnessed the killings, and had only seen the bodies when they entered the village after the junta's forces had left.
Further information has been sought from the junta, which does not usually respond to requests for comments.
"There are different narratives around this incident, however, both pro-military Telegram channels and local resistance groups have attributed the killings to the Myanmar military," Myanmar Witness said.
Further to this, Myanmar Witness said it had found evidence of MA5.56 bullets, M79 shells, a mortar round and bullet cases manufactured by a known provider to the military near where bodies were discovered in Nan Neint.
Nan Neint attack follows strikes on nearby villages
Myanmar Witness said during the attack that junta forces had set more than 100 homes alight.
"Civilians allegedly hid inside the monastery compound while the military burned down homes," it said.
The fires — which Myanmar Witness was able to verify using NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) — destroyed some houses but others were unscathed.
There have been several clashes between the Myanmar military, military-aligned forces and local defence forces in the area around Nan Neint.
Almost two weeks before the massacre in Nan Neint, nearby Tawng Me Thin village was attacked by a Myanmar Air Force K-8 fighter jet, according to Myanmar Witness.
"This aircraft is only used by the Myanmar Air Force within Myanmar," Myanmar Witness said.
The jet flew over Tawng Me Thin three times, and strafed it, twice, with machine guns and what Myanmar Witness called "two free-fall unguided bombs".
"Due to this fighting, around 5,000 people from Long Pyin, Tawng Me Thin, Nam Neint, and Hsa Long South reportedly fled. They are said to have been sheltering in monasteries and refugee camps," Myanmar Witness said.
The day before the air strike, KNDF and another rebel group attacked a checkpoint on the road to Tawng Me Thin that was manned by forces allied to the junta.
At least 10 people from the Myanmar military and their supporting militants were killed, Myanmar Witness said.
Myanmar Witness said the "air strike in Tawng Me Thin village and the massacre in Nam Neint village highlight the importance of continued monitoring of human rights interferences in Myanmar".
The United Nations' Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Thomas Andrews, on Monday called for further sanctions to weaken the military leadership.
"They have less control of the country than they did at the beginning of this coup," Mr Andrews said of Myanmar's junta.
"We could make a very significant difference if we increased our support and we coordinated that support … I think it would make a world of difference."
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said it was aware of reports of civilian casualties at a monastery near Nan Neint.
"Australia remains gravely concerned about the situation in Myanmar, and we continue to urge the immediate cessation of violence," A DFAT spokesman told the ABC.
