BURMESE soldiers raided a village in the north-west, tied up 11 civilians and burned them alive, witnesses report.

Human Rights Watch said today the massacre, which took place on Tuesday, should prompt further sanctions on Burmese military commanders.

“Our contacts are saying these were just boys and young people who were villagers who were caught in the wrong place at the wrong time,” a spokeswoman for the group, Manny Maung, said. She added that reports of many similar incidents were being received but this was unusual in that photographic evidence had been obtained.