BANGKOK: At least 100 civilians, including a number of children, were killed in a military airstrike in Myanmar, according to media and eyewitness reports.
Forces deployed by the ruling military junta fired rockets at Pazigyi township in the Sagaing region on Tuesday, reported German news agency (dpa).
The rockets struck just as an opening ceremony for a new office of the anti-junta People’s Defence Force was being held there. Many people from neighbouring villages had reportedly come to the town for the ceremony.
Fierce fighting has recently broken out in the region between the military and armed groups that are resisting the junta. The general seized power in a military coup in February 2021.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned Tuesday’s attack “in the strongest possible terms” and called for those responsible to be held accountable.
According to a UN spokesman in New York, Guterres expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and demanded that the injured be given medical treatment and access to aid.
Media reports indicated that the situation in Pazigyi was chaotic. According to eyewitnesses, the death toll will likely increase.
Residents said the military appeared to be waiting for the ceremony to begin in order to launch the airstrike and hit as many people as possible. Photos posted on social networks showed many dead bodies.
The shadow anti-junta government in Myanmar, known as the National Unity Government, described the attack in a statement as a “heinous act” and described it as further evidence of the junta’s ruthless use of violence against innocent civilians.
The military has been cracking down on civil protests and armed resistance by anti-junta militias across the crisis-plagued country. — BERNAMA-dpa
