The US government has condemned the beheading by Myanmar junta soldiers of a high school teacher at a school in Pauk Township in Magway Region on 16 October.

The US State Department spokesperson Ned Price tweeted on 20 October: “We are appalled by reports that Burma’s military regime arrested, publicly mutilated, and beheaded a schoolteacher in Magway Region. The regime's brutal violence, including against educators, demands a strong response from the international community.”

The 45-year-old teacher Saw Tun Moe was arrested in Thit Nyi Naung Village by junta soldiers on 16 October, according to residents.

Residents said that Saw Tun Moe was arrested and taken to Taung Myint Village and killed shortly after.

"His head was hung on a door of the school and his hands were also cut off,” said a resident.

“Killing by cutting off his head and cutting off his hands is too cruel. Killing a teacher is suppressing education. Suppressing education is the same as killing the country's future,” said the resident.

The soldiers reportedly burnt the school which is believed to have been used by the National Unity Government (NUG) or Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) to provide education for children.

The teacher is believed to have been targeted by the junta troops for his education work for the CDM.