Six opposition rebels have been killed in Myanmar after days of clashes, according to a civilian-led anti-junta defense force, as Britain and the US protested the military's brutality against civilians.
The nation has been in turmoil since the military deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup on February 1, sparking a major insurgency that authorities have attempted to quell with lethal force.
Some anti-junta activists have formed local militias armed with homemade weapons to defend their towns from security forces, who, according to a local monitoring group, have killed at least 790 civilians.
The town of Mindat in the western state of Chin has become a hotspot for unrest, with some residents forming the Chinland Defense Force (CDF).
"Six members of our CDF who attempted to defend the people's security in Mindat were targeted by (junta forces) and sacrificed their lives for the national revolution," according to a CDF statement released on Sunday.
Over ten people have been injured this week, according to an AFP spokesperson, and the military has detained five Mindat residents.
Fear of retribution and martial law
Information about the fighting has been slow to emerge due to mobile data blocks across the region, and on-the-ground verification has been difficult due to locals' fear of retaliation.
According to the spokesman, CDF fighters set fire to several army vehicles, destroying them, and ambushed reinforcement troops, while the military launched an artillery assault on the area.
According to him, the CDF had withdrawn into the jungle by Sunday.
"We're not going to stay in town any longer... but we'll be back to strike again," he said. "We just have weapons that we made ourselves. This was insufficient."
Residents in Mindat, which has been under martial law since Thursday, are afraid to leave their homes for fear of being attacked by the military, according to him.
Attacks on people that are deemed 'illegal'
On Saturday, the US and UK embassies in Myanmar raised the alarm about the unrest in Mindat, urging security forces to put an end to the conflict.
"The military's use of war weapons against civilians, including this week in Mindat, is yet another example of the regime's willingness to go to any length to maintain control," the US embassy said in a tweet Saturday.
The British embassy said, responding to reports of violence from Mindat, that "attacks on civilians are unlawful and cannot be justified."
"Evidence of massacres should be submitted to the (United Nations Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar) so perpetrators can be kept accountable," the embassy tweeted.
On Sunday, Myanmar's state-run newspaper New Light announced that a military tribunal will be convened in Mindat to prosecute "perpetrators of terrorist attacks."
According to the newspaper, security forces witnessed several assaults, one of which resulted in the death of one man, and an ambush on Friday by "1,000 rioters" killed some soldiers – though it did not specify how many.
Anti-coup protesters are marching for democracy across the country, with demonstrators in northern Hpakant carrying signs that read "Stay strong, Mindat."
