Burmese military fighter jets killed three villagers and injured seven others in a bombing mission in Kyaukme Township, northern Shan State, the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) said in statement released today.

According to SHRF, the air strike took place in Pang Mark Mur village on December 26 last year. It said that Burma’s Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 506 used jets to attack the village.

“A bomb landed directly on the house of [villager] Lung Jeak Da, killing three men instantly, including Lung Jeak Da, and injuring two women, a 5-year-old boy, and another man. A cow was also killed,” read the statement. “Three bombs landed around the village monastery, injuring four monks sheltering under the temple building. Apart from the monastery, altogether 16 houses in the village were damaged by the bombing.”

Monday’s report said that Burmese soldiers buried the bodies of the deceased immediately upon entering the village.

“The troops did not let the villagers hold a proper funeral ceremony,” said the statement. “The bodies were simply wrapped in mats and buried.”

Sai Hor Hseng, the spokesperson for SHRF, emphasised that human rights abuses, including killings and the destruction of private property, continue to occur across Shan State, particularly in the northern region.

“The government should take responsibility for these people’s losses,” he said. “Since this incident, there has been no report about support from the government. Only local charity groups are helping the victims,” he said.

“Villagers are intimidated and afraid as the Burmese army is still stationed in their village.”

Sai Hor Hseng noted that Yanghee Lee, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights, is currently on an official visit to Burma, but that Shan State is not included on her itinerary.

He said that the Korean diplomat’s report on the human rights situation in the country will not accurately portray the abuses in Shan State.

Shan Herald has reported throughout the past month that hostilities between government armed forces and ethnic armed groups have compelled hundreds, if not thousands, of families to flee their homes.