Burmese junta soldiers have allegedly burnt down a village in an unprovoked attack as the country spirals towards a civil war.

Footage shows columns of smoke rising from the mountainside town of Tedim in Chin State in Myanmar on August 14 afternoon. At least 10 houses were reportedly destroyed.

Local media said there were no reports of gunfighting before the alleged state-backed arson happened.

A spokesman from resistance group Chinland Defense Force claimed: 'Thousands of residents from those villages in Chin state are hiding in the forest. Military soldiers have killed the innocent villagers and also their domestic animals for food.'

The Burmese junta allegedly employs arson as one of its counterinsurgency tactics. Chin State is located next to the Sagaing Division, said to be a stronghold for rebel forces in Myanmar.

Myanmar has suffered ongoing unrest and following the removal of well-liked leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a military coup last February.

Soldiers responded with barbaric force on civilians leading to widespread condemnation and financial sanctions, including from the UK. Rebel groups and civilian militias around the country have been locked in a series of ongoing clashes with the ruling military.