The Myanmar Armed Forces have carried out deadly airstrikes which reportedly killed as many as 100 people in an opposition stronghold in the northwest on Tuesday. The air strike is one of the deadliest attacks on civilians since Myanmar's military seized power in a coup in February 2021. According to media reports, most of the injured and dead are women and children.
Myanmarâs ruling junta has confirmed it carried out deadly airstrikes on a village where opposition forces were holding a ceremony. Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said Wednesday the attack in the Sagaing region in northwest Myanmar on Tuesday was conducted during a ceremony by the Peopleâs Defense Force (PDF), the military arm of the National Unity Government (NUG).
The airstrikes by Myanmar fighter jets on a community hall in the Sagaing region reportedly killed dozens of people. Schoolchildren as well as other civilians were attending an opening ceremony at the hall in Pazi Gyi village in Kanbalu Township when the airstrikes hit. A helicopter gunship then reportedly fired on those fleeing the hall.
Various news outlets say at least 50 people were killed in the attacks. Sources connected to the NUG and PDF report as many as 100 people may have been killed. The junta spokesman said some of those killed were members of the PDF, while acknowledging that some civilians may have been killed as well.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the attack in a statement released by his spokesperson Tuesday, and called for those responsible to be held accountable. Guterres repeated his call âfor the military to end the campaign of violence against the Myanmar population throughout the country.â
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker TĂŒrk, also issued a statement Tuesday, condemning the attack while saying he was âhorrifiedâ by reports of the airstrikes.
"Despite clear legal obligations for the military to protect civilians in the conduct of hostilities, there has been blatant disregard for the related rules of international law", TĂŒrk said.
He called on all parties to take âall feasible precautions to protect the civilian population that is under their control from the effects of attacksâ, including by avoiding locating military objectives within or near densely populated areas.
âAs I have previously noted, 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 crimesâ, the High Commissioner said.
Tuesdayâs attack mirrors a similar attack last October in northern Kachin state when at least 50 people were killed during a concert put on by the ethnic Kachin Independence Army.
The Myanmar military says its overthrow of the democratically elected government was due to widespread election fraud in the November 2020 general elections, won by a landslide by Aung San Suu Kyiâs National League for Democracy party.
The coup immediately triggered anti-junta demonstrations across Myanmar that have led to the deaths of more than 3,000 civilians and more than 18,000 arrests at the hands of the military, according to an independent monitoring group. The unrest has also evolved into a deadly rural conflict between the military and several ethnic rebel groups, who have been fighting for decades for greater autonomy.
Myanmar faces multiple overlapping humanitarian needs caused by genocide, persecution, protracted armed conflicts, intercommunal violence and natural disasters. Humanitarian needs in Myanmar have continued to grow due to ongoing armed violence and political unrest since the military coup in February 2021.
Fighting across Myanmar continues to endanger the lives, safety, and health of civilians. Heavy armed clashes, including airstrikes, artillery fire and ambushes are reported predominantly in the northwest and southeast of the country, as well as in Rakhine and southern Chin state. Over 55,000 civilian structures, including homes, clinics, schools and places of worship, have been reportedly burned or destroyed over the past two years.
As of February 2023, there were an estimated 1.6 million internally displaced people (IDP) across Myanmar, including some 1.3 million people who have been displaced within the country since the military takeover on February 1, 2021. During the first two months of this year, more than 154,000 people have been internally displaced and are living in precarious conditions in camps and informal sites.
The United Nations estimates that 17.6 million people in Myanmar will need humanitarian assistance and protection in 2023, an increase of more than 3 million compared to 2022. Among the population requiring humanitarian aid are some 5.6 million children.
Further information
Full text: UN Human Rights Chief Volker TĂŒrk condemns Myanmar attacks, statement, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, released April 11, 2023
https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements/2023/04/un-human-rights-chief-volker-turk-condemns-myanmar-attacks