Myanmar military junta air strikes opposition event; at least 100 killed

New Delhi: At least 100 people including children and women were killed in central Myanmar yesterday in an air strike by the military on an event attended by opponents to its rule, according to media and members of a local resistance movement. Hundreds of locals had gathered to mark the opening of a local defence force office.

Citing residents in the Sagaing region, the second largest city Mandalay, BBC Burmese, Radio Free Asia (RFA), and the Irrawaddy news portal reported between 50 and 100 people, including civilians, had died in the attack. The Sagaing region has shown resistance to the military's rule. Unconfirmed Social media reports show bodies scattered among ruined homes.

The United Nations and several other organisations/countries have condemned the killings.

The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres strongly condemns the attack by the Myanmar Armed Forces today in Kanbalu Township in Sagaing Region.  He calls for those responsible to be held accountable.

The Secretary-General offers his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and calls for those injured to be allowed urgent medical treatment and access to assistance.

The Secretary-General also condemned all forms of violence demanding the protection of civilians, by international humanitarian law.  He reiterates his call for the military to end the campaign of violence against the Myanmar population throughout the country.

Media quoting UN rights chief Volker Turk said he was "horrified" by the deadly air strikes whose victims he said included schoolchildren performing dances, with the global body calling for those responsible to be brought to justice.

The United Nations, while not confirming a toll, said several civilians were killed, with Turk accusing Myanmar's military of once again disregarding "clear legal obligations... to protect civilians in the conduct of hostilities".

The United States too condemned the killings. "These violent attacks further underscore the regime's disregard for human life and its responsibility for the dire political and humanitarian crisis in Burma following the February 2021 coup," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said in a statement, using the country's former name.

"The United States calls on the Burma regime to cease the horrific violence, allow unhindered humanitarian access, and to respect the genuine and inclusive democratic aspirations of the people of Burma."

Germany's Foreign Office in a tweet said they "strongly condemn the #Myanmar army's airstrike killing dozens of civilians, incl. many children," adding: "We expect the regime to end the violence against its people immediately."

Myanmar has been in chaos since the military seized power in February 2021. The military last month announced a six-month extension of a state of emergency and postponed elections it had promised to hold by August 2022,

Around 1.2 million Myanmar people have fled the country and many of them are living as refugees in Mizoram and Manipur States of India and several other countries. The ruling military has faced international condemnation for razing villages, mass killings and air strikes on civilians.

Last year, a military air strike on a concert put on by the Kachin Independence Army in northern Kachin state killed around 50 people and wounded more than 70, the rebels said.

Myanmar's pro-democracy government-in-exile, the National Unity Government, condemned the attack, calling it "yet another example of (the military's) indiscriminate use of extreme force against civilians".