Save the Children staff among 35 killed in Myanmar Christmas Eve attack, group says

The group, which has blamed the military junta for the slayings, said the two staff members were returning from conducting humanitarian activities nearby when they were killed.

The humanitarian group Save the Children said Tuesday it has confirmed that two of its staff were among at least 35 people, including children, who were killed in eastern Myanmar on Christmas Eve in an attack it blamed on the country’s military.

It said the two staff members were caught up in the attack in Kayah state as they were traveling back to their office after conducting humanitarian activities in a nearby community.

“Violence against innocent civilians including aid workers is intolerable, and this senseless attack is a breach of International Humanitarian Law,” the group’s chief executive, Inger Ashing, said in a statement.

“This is not an isolated event. The people of Myanmar continue to be targeted with increasing violence and these events demand an immediate response,” Ashing said.

The army seized power in February, ousting the elected government and arresting top officials. Its action was met by nonviolent nationwide demonstrations, which security forces quashed with deadly force, killing nearly 1,400 civilians, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

Peaceful protests have continued, but an armed resistance has also grown amid the severe crackdown, to the point that U.N. experts have warned the country could be sliding into civil war.

Save the Children called on the U.N. Security Council to respond to the army violence with steps including an arms embargo. It also urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to press for the implementation of an agreement reached in April with Myanmar’s leader calling for the cessation of violence in the country and mediation by an ASEAN special envoy.

Photos of the attack have spread on social media in Myanmar, fueling outrage against the military.