At least 25 dead in Myanmar as junta fires on villagers, reports say

At least 25 civilians have been killed in clashes with junta forces in central Myanmar, local news and residents reported on Sunday.
Local media, including Than Lwin Khet News, reported that around 150 soldiers of the military junta headed to six villages near the town of Depayin in the Sagaing region on Friday and fired shots from morning to night, forcing thousands of civilians to flee their homes.
"They got the information that there were some People's Defense Forces here. So they came and attacked us," a resident told dpa.
So-called People's Defence Forces have been founded across Myanmar to fight the junta forces since the military toppled the government of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup on February 1.
"The villagers defended themselves with swords and some home-made rifles. But many people were killed as the junta forces shot into the villages," another resident told dpa.
More than 890 people have been killed since the coup, according to estimates by the prisoners' aid organization AAPP. More than 6,000 have been arrested.