In central Myanmar last week, at least 22 people—including three Buddhist monks—were shot dead at close range, according to a doctor's post-mortem report, in what critics of the military government claim was a massacre of civilians by the army.

A spokesman for the junta in Myanmar, which overthrew the elected government two years ago, claimed that while its troops had engaged in combat with rebels in the southern Shan state's Pinlaung region, they had not injured any civilians.

According to a statement from Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun, after government forces arrived to provide security alongside a local militia in the village of Nan Neint, the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF) and another rebel group entered the area.

"When the terrorist groups violently opened fire… some villagers were killed and injured," he said.

According to a KNDF spokesman, when its soldiers entered Nan Neint on Sunday, they discovered dead bodies lying around a Buddhist monastery.

The Karenni Revolution Union (KRU) and the KNDF both provided images and video that showed bullet wounds to the torsos and heads of the deceased as well as holes in the monastery's walls. Reuters was unable to independently confirm the material's authenticity.

In a post-mortem report, Dr Ye Zaw, a member of the National Unity Government, an exiled civil administration set up after the coup, claimed that 22 people, including three saffron-robed monks, were probably killed with automatic weapons at close range.

The report, a copy of which was examined by Reuters, stated that it was "evident that they were civilians" because no military gear, uniforms, or ammunition had been discovered on the other bodies.

"It is obvious that this was a massacre because all the dead bodies were discovered inside the compound of Nan Nein monastery."

According to local media reports, resistance forces, and satellite images confirmed by Myanmar Witness, a group that records human rights violations, fighting has been raging in the area for at least two weeks and has resulted in the burning down of about 100 buildings near the alleged massacre site in Nan Neint.

Since the military overthrew the government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, the Southeast Asian nation has been in crisis. This put an end to ten years of hesitant democratic progress.

Resistance movements, some armed, have emerged nationwide, which the military has countered with lethal force and labelled "terrorists". Additionally, some ethnic military forces have sided with the junta.

The National Unity Government's minister for human rights, Aung Myo Min, claimed that the junta had increased combat operations and attacked civilians without weapons at least four times in the previous two weeks.

In an online press conference, he informed reporters that it was "clearly evident" that the junta was targeting civilians, which was a crime against humanity.

The junta has denied that it targets civilians, claiming that its soldiers only retaliate to "terrorists'" attacks.

The non-profit Assistance Association for Political Prisoners estimates that 3,137 individuals have died as a result of the military crackdown since the coup.

The military has been charged by the United Nations with war crimes and crimes against humanity.