Myanmar’s military government denies allegations by ethnic army foe that it killed 76 villagers

By GRANT PECK
Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — A spokesperson for Myanmar’s military government has denied accusations that army troops and their local allies killed 76 people when they entered a village last week in the western state of Rakhine. Rakhine has become a focal point for Myanmar’s nationwide civil war, in which pro-democracy guerrillas and ethnic minority-armed forces battle the country’s military rulers. The accusations of a massacre in Byine Phyu village in northern Rakhine were made by the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed organization that has been on the offensive since November last year. Byine Phyu village is on the outskirts of Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine.