Myanmar's Ruling Junta Confirms Deadly Air Strike, Draws Condemnation From UN, West

Myanmar Junta Attack: A junta aircraft fired on the village with two bombs while people were gathered for the opening of a new town office.

An armed navy soldier stands guard at the roadside.

Source : File Photo/Getty

Myanmar's ruling junta has confirmed that it carried out a deadly air strike on a village on Tuesday morning in which dozens of people were reported to be killed. The death toll, however, remains unclear from the strike on the remote Kanbalu township in the central Sagaing region of the country. As per an AFP report, the junta confirmed the air strikes late Tuesday night but did not say anything about the casualties. "We attacked that place," said spokesperson Zaw Min Tun, adding some of the dead were anti-coup fighters in uniform, though "there could be some people with civilian clothes".

"There was (a People's Defence Force) office opening ceremony... (Tuesday) morning about 8 am at Pazi Gyi village," the spokesperson said, referring to the armed anti-junta groups that have sprung up across the country since its elected government was toppled in a 2021 military coup.

There is a varied number of casualties reported. As per BBC Burmese, The Irrawaddy, and Radio Free Asia, 50 people have died in the air strike, while CNN reported at least 100 dead in the junta's deadliest attack since taking power in a coup more than two years ago.

Condemnation By United Nations, West

The air strikes drew widespread condemnation including from the United Nations and the West.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "strongly condemns the attack by the Myanmar Armed Forces today", according to a statement by his spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

Guterres "reiterates his call for the military to end the campaign of violence against the Myanmar population throughout the country", the spokesman added.

The United States also said it was "deeply concerned" about the air strikes. 

"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.

Germany's Foreign Office in a tweet said it "strongly" condemned the strike, adding it expected "the regime to end the violence against its people immediately".

'Loss Of Scores Of Innocent Civilians'

An official from the fictitious National Unity Government, which claims to be Myanmar's legitimate government, and an emergency worker at the scene claimed that the attack resulted in the "loss of scores of innocent civilians and injuring many more, including children and pregnant women."

According to a Local news outlet, The Irrawaddy, a junta aircraft fired on the village with two bombs while people were gathered for the opening of a new town office.

After the air raid, victims' bodies could be seen in photos and videos that were shared by The Irrawaddy and other local media outlets. 

On Twitter, Union Prime Minister of the NUG Mahn Winn Khine Thann expressed his grief over the "aerial massacre."

Thousands Killed Since 2021 Coup

Since the military took power in a coup in February 2021, thousands of people have died across Myanmar. As per a local monitoring group, 3,100 people have been reported dead in the military's crackdown on dissent in the wake of the coup. 

Aung San Suu Kyi, the democratically elected leader, was toppled by the junta and later found guilty and sentenced to 33 years in prison during secret trials. It has been condemned by the United Nations and rights groups for its crackdown on anti-coup protests, arrests of journalists and political prisoners, and executions of prominent pro-democracy activists.

The nation in Southeast Asia is experiencing violence and instability two years later. Food, fuel, and other essentials are in short supply as a result of the economic collapse.

According to a statement issued by the State Department, the United States imposed a new set of sanctions on two individuals and three businesses that they owned last month.