NAYPYIDAW: At least 100 people, including women and children, are believed to have been killed in a series of deadly airstrikes by Myanmar’s military on a civilian crowd in the central Sagaing region.
In the attack on Tuesday morning, the junta targeted a community townhall in the village of Pa Zi Gyi where a ceremony was underway to mark the opening of an office set up by the military’s opponents.
Zaw Min Tun, a spokesperson for the military, confirmed the raid late Tuesday, saying security forces targetted an opening ceremony for the office of an alleged militia opposed to their rule in Pa Zi Gyi village.
Witnesses told local media that fighter jets dropped multiple bombs at the civilian gathering of several hundred people, shortly followed by gunship helicopters which shot survivors at the scene and hampered rescue efforts.
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Attack sparks global outcry
Myanmar military’s attack on civilians, that could be the junta’s deadliest since the February 2021 coup, has sparked widespread condemnation.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the attack, calling for “those responsible to be held accountable”.
He also appealed to allow urgent medical treatment and access to assistance to those wounded in the attack.
The UN Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, also said he was “horrified” by the attack and condemned the military’s “blatant disregard for rules of international law” that call for the protection of civilians.
“There are reasonable grounds to believe that the military and its affiliated militias are responsible for an extremely broad range of human rights violations and abuses since 1 February 2021, some of which may constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes,” Turk added.
The United States also condemned the attack, calling on the regime to stop the “horrific violence”.
State department spokesperson Vedant Patel said these violent attacks further underscore the junta’s disregard for human life and its responsibility for the grim political and humanitarian crisis in the country following the coup.
Myanmar has been descended into chaos since the military’s takeover of the country a little over two years ago. The regime has launched a largescale crackdown on peaceful protesters demonstrating against its rule.
According to UN and other rights groups, soldiers in Myanmar have carried out thousands of indiscriminate killings, arbitrary arrests and torture.
