The farming town of Depayin joined Myanmar's list of shattered communities when the army moved in to crush a local anti-junta militia armed with makeshift weapons.
When army trucks arrived at Depayin around dawn last Friday, local youths assembled to fight back but were quickly overwhelmed, six residents said by telephone. Dozens of people were killed afterward by the soldiers and thousands have since fled with whatever they could carry, the residents said.
The state-run Global New Light of Myanmar said "armed terrorists" had ambushed security forces, killing one and wounding six. It said the attackers retreated after retaliation.