MYANMAR TROOPS KILL 25 IN RAID, RESIDENTS CONFIRM

Myanmar security forces killed at least 25 people last week in a confrontation with opponents of the military junta at a town in the center of the Southeast Asian nation, two residents and Myanmar media said.

A spokesman for the military did not respond to calls requesting comment on the violence at Depayin in the Sagaing region, about 300 km (200 miles) north of the capital, Naypyidaw.

The state-run Global New Light of Myanmar said "armed terrorists" had ambushed security forces patrolling there, killing one of them and wounding six. It said the attackers retreated after retaliation by the security forces.

Myanmar has been plunged into chaos by the Feb. 1 coup against elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, with violence flaring in many parts of the country of more than 53 million people.

One resident of Depayin, who did not want to be identified for fear of reprisals, said four military trucks dropped soldiers at the village early on Friday.

Youth from a local People's Defense Force (PDF), formed to oppose the junta, took up positions to confront them. However, they only had makeshift weapons and were forced back by the security forces' heavier firepower, the resident said.

"There were people dying at farms and by the railroad. They (soldiers) shot everything that moved," said another resident, who said his uncle was among the dead. A total of 25 bodies had been collected after the fighting, both residents said.

The BBC Burmese service website and the Than Lwin Khet News service carried similar accounts. The Myanmar Now news service put the death toll at not fewer than 31 and said about 10,000 people had fled the area.

Reuters was not able to verify the details independently. The Depayin PDF said on its Facebook page that 18 of its members had been killed and 11 wounded.

WEEKLY FEATURE : PAL READY TO SOAR WITH PANDEMIC