'Silent strike' as Yangon says massacre reports 'fake'

Bangkok: Myanmar’s military- installed govt has described as “fake news” reports that its troops were involved in a widely reported massacre in the country’s northwest in which soldiers allegedly rounded up and killed 11 civilians whose charred bodies were later discovered by fellow villagers. The denial was published Friday as opponents of the military’s February takeover put on a show of strength, with citizens staying off the streets in cities and towns in what was called a “silent strike.”

A report accused “the nation-destroying media” of spreading a video that it said misrepresented the massacre as having been carried out by Myanmar security forces. —(AP)