Bangkok: Over 100 people, including children, are feared to have been killed in airstrikes by Myanmar’s military on Tuesday. The victims were reportedly attending a ceremony held by opponents of army rule, said a witness, a member of a local pro-democracy group and independent media.
According to reports, the Myanmar junta is increasingly using airstrikes to counter a widespread armed struggle against its rule, which began in February 2021 when it seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
More than 3,000 civilians are estimated to have been killed since then by security forces.
According to AFP, a witness said that a fighter jet dropped bombs directly into a crowd of people who were gathering at 8 am for the opening of a local office of the country’s opposition movement outside Pazigyi village in Sagaing region’s Kinabalu town. The area is about 110 km north of Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city.
About half an hour later, a helicopter appeared and fired at the site.
Initial reports put the death toll at around 50, but later tallies reported by independent media raised it to about 100. It was impossible to independently confirm details of the incident because reporting is restricted by the military government.
About 150 people gathered for the opening ceremony. Women and 20-30 children were among the dead. Those killed also included leaders of locally formed anti-government armed groups and other opposition organizations.
The military government’s spokesperson, Maj Gen Zaw Min Tun, acknowledged in a statement phoned to state television MRTV that the ceremony had been attacked, but accused anti-government forces in the area of carrying out a violent campaign of terror. He said the People’s Defense Forces – the armed wing of the National Unity Government – had terrorised residents into supporting them, killing Buddhist monks, teachers and other people, while the military sought peace and stability. He said there was evidence the attack had set off secondary blasts of explosives hidden by the People’s Defense Forces around the site.
