Moso Village Christmas Eve Killings
Report Published: 21 Jul 2022
Detailed report on the Moso village killings with multiple geolocations and in-depth analysis of attribution claims
Executive summary
Myanmar Witness has documented and verified images relating to the killing of multiple individuals that took place on 24 December 2021. More than 30 bodies were identified and Myanmar Witness verified that the events took place near Moso (မိုဆိုရွ) village in Hpruso township (ဖရူဆိုမြို့နယ်), Kayah State (ကယားပြည်နယ်).
During the course of this investigation, Myanmar Witness has documented multiple images and pieces of footage which show numerous vehicles containing severely burnt bodies. Local reports indicate that there were at least 35 bodies found at the scene along with eight vehicles and five motorbikes. Reports by Myanmar Now indicate that children were amongst the deceased. This report by Myanmar Witness captures the initial findings of an investigation into the alleged killings, including the verification of this event, and analysis of footage verified by Myanmar Witness to be taken at the scene, which shows individuals walking away from the burning vehicles.
Myanmar Witness has verified the event in question through the geolocation of images and footage from the scene. The time of the event was verified using multiple sources. NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) data shows fires at 1319 local time (0648 GMT), on 24 December 2021. Shadows from drone footage taken where the fire was geolocated shows the fire was burning at about 1200 local time; however, posts on social media regarding Moso (မိုဆိုရွ) village don’t mention the fires until later in the day. This investigation concludes that it is likely the fire was set alight between 1130-1200 local time. Additionally, footage which was chronolocated to around 1500 local time on the day in question shows that the fires had been extinguished. Myanmar Witness has been able to discern that these fires do not appear to be accidental or natural, like those which occur in hot weather around dry vegetation.
[Warning: Graphic] has been inserted ahead of links to sources which show graphic and distressing images of injured or dead persons.
