Tortured to death: Myanmar mass killings revealed | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Thursday
July 03, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
THURSDAY, JULY 03, 2025
Tortured to death: Myanmar mass killings revealed

World+Biz

UNB
20 December, 2021, 12:35 pm
Last modified: 20 December, 2021, 12:40 pm

Related News

  • UN officials say new Gaza aid system leads to mass killings
  • Bangladesh recalls ambassador from Myanmar
  • The dirty secrets behind Myanmar's rare-earths boom
  • Malaysia PM hails 'significant' engagement on Myanmar as Southeast Asian leaders meet
  • China’s Xi meets Myanmar junta chief, pledges to help rebuild post-earthquake

Tortured to death: Myanmar mass killings revealed

The killings took place in July, in four separate incidents in Kani Township - an opposition stronghold in Sagaing District in Central Myanmar

UNB
20 December, 2021, 12:35 pm
Last modified: 20 December, 2021, 12:40 pm
Photo :BBC
Photo :BBC

The Myanmar military carried out a series of mass killings of civilians in July that resulted in the deaths of at least 40 men, according to a BBC investigation.

Eyewitnesses and survivors said that soldiers, some as young as 17, rounded up villagers before separating the men and killing them. Video footage and images from the incidents appears to show most of those killed were tortured first and buried in shallow graves.

The killings took place in July, in four separate incidents in Kani Township - an opposition stronghold in Sagaing District in Central Myanmar.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

The military has faced resistance from civilians since it seized control of the country in a February coup, deposing a democratically-elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi.

The BBC spoke to 11 witnesses in Kani and compared their accounts with mobile phone footage and photographs collected by Myanmar Witness, a UK-based NGO that investigates human rights abuses in the country.

The largest killing took place in Yin village, where at least 14 men were tortured or beaten to death and their bodies thrown in a forested gully

Photo :BBC
Photo :BBC
.

The witnesses in Yin - whose names we have withheld to protect their identities - told the BBC the men were tied up with ropes and beaten before they were killed.

"We couldn't stand to watch it so we kept our heads down, crying," said one woman, whose brother, nephew and brother-in-law were killed.

"We begged them not to do it. They didn't care. They asked the women, 'Are your husbands among them? If they are, do your last rites'."

A man who managed to escape the killings said that soldiers inflicted horrifying abuse on the men for hours before they died.

"They were tied up, beaten with stones and rifle butts and tortured all day," the survivor said.

"Some soldiers looked young, maybe 17 or 18, but some were really old. There was also a woman with them."

In nearby Zee Bin Dwin village, in late July, 12 mutilated bodies were found buried in shallow mass graves, including a small body, possibly a child, and the body of a disabled person. Some were mutilated.

The body of a man in his sixties was found tied to a plum tree nearby. Footage of his corpse, reviewed by the BBC, showed clear signs of torture. His family said that his son and grandchild had fled when the military entered the village, but he had stayed, believing his age would protect him from harm.

The killings appeared to be a collective punishment for attacks on the military by civilian militia groups in the area, who are demanding that democracy is restored. Fighting between the military and the local branches of the People's Defence Force - a collective name for civilian militia groups - had intensified in the area in the months before the mass killings, including clashes near Zee Bin Dwin.

It is clear from the visual evidence and testimony gathered by the BBC that men were specifically targeted, fitting with a pattern observed across Myanmar in recent months of male villagers facing collective punishment for clashes between the People's Defence Forces and the military.

The families of those killed insisted that the men were not involved in attacks on the military. A woman who lost her brother in the Yin village massacre said she pleaded with the soldiers, telling them her brother "could not even handle a catapult".

She said a soldier replied, "Don't say anything. We are tired. We will kill you."

Foreign journalists have been barred from reporting in Myanmar since the coup, and most non-state media outlets have been shut down, making on-the-ground reporting all but impossible.

The BBC put the allegations raised in this story to Myanmar's Deputy Minister for Information and military spokesperson, General Zaw Min Tun. He did not deny soldiers had carried out the mass killings.

"It can happen," he said. "When they treat us as enemies, we have the right to defend ourselves."

The United Nations is currently investigating alleged human rights abuses carried out by the Myanmar military.

Top News

Myanmar / Mass killings

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Govt to pay 3-year high ACU bill of $2b next week
    Govt to pay 3-year high ACU bill of $2b next week
  • A file photo of the NBR Bhaban in Agargaon, Dhaka
    NBR officers gripped by fear as govt gets tough  
  • Bangladesh National Parliament. File Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain
    Has the time come for Bangladesh to embrace PR? 

MOST VIEWED

  • Govt lowers interest rates on savings instruments
    Govt lowers interest rates on savings instruments
  • File photo of Bangladesh Public Service Commission logo. Photo: Collected
    Repeat recommendations in 44th BCS spark vacancy fears
  • File photo of Chattogram Port/TBS
    Ctg port handles record 32.96 lakh containers in FY25, revenue hits Tk75,432 crore
  • Chief adviser’s Special Envoy for International Affairs and Adviser Lutfey Siddiqi
    Fake documents submission behind visa complications for Bangladeshis: Lutfey Siddiqi
  • Zakir Hossain. Photo: Collected
    Ctg customs commissioner suspended for joining NBR officials' 'complete shutdown'
  • Controversial taxman Matiur’s rulings cost govt Tk1000cr in lost revenue
    Controversial taxman Matiur’s rulings cost govt Tk1000cr in lost revenue

Related News

  • UN officials say new Gaza aid system leads to mass killings
  • Bangladesh recalls ambassador from Myanmar
  • The dirty secrets behind Myanmar's rare-earths boom
  • Malaysia PM hails 'significant' engagement on Myanmar as Southeast Asian leaders meet
  • China’s Xi meets Myanmar junta chief, pledges to help rebuild post-earthquake

Features

Illustration: TBS

The buildup to July Uprising: From a simple anti-quota movement to a wildfire against autocracy

6h | Panorama
Illustration: TBS

Ulan Daspara: Remnants of a fishing village in Dhaka

2d | Panorama
Photo: Collected

Innovative storage accessories you’ll love

3d | Brands
Two competitors in this segment — one a flashy newcomer, the other a hybrid veteran — are going head-to-head: the GAC GS3 Emzoom and the Toyota CH-R. PHOTOS: Nafirul Haq (GAC Emzoom) and Akif Hamid (Toyota CH-R)

GAC Emzoom vs Toyota CH-R: The battle of tech vs trust

3d | Wheels

More Videos from TBS

Will Syria normalise relations with Israel?

Will Syria normalise relations with Israel?

5h | Others
Multinational companies' participation in the Israeli massacre in Gaza

Multinational companies' participation in the Israeli massacre in Gaza

5h | Others
July fighter Fahim doesn't want to be a burden.

July fighter Fahim doesn't want to be a burden.

6h | TBS Stories
The government has reduced the profit on savings certificates; what is its impact on the common man?

The government has reduced the profit on savings certificates; what is its impact on the common man?

7h | Podcast
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net