Joy at Myanmar concert turns into horror as military air strike kills at least 60 people: sources
- The attack targeted celebrations of the 62nd anniversary of the formation of the Kachin army’s political wing
- It comes three days before Southeast Asian foreign ministers are to hold a special meeting in Indonesia to discuss widening violence in Myanmar
Air strikes by Myanmar’s military killed more than 60 people, including singers and musicians, attending an anniversary celebration of the Kachin ethnic minority’s main political organisation, members of the group and a rescue worker said on Monday.
The reported attack comes three days before Southeast Asian foreign ministers are to hold a special meeting in Indonesia to discuss widening violence in Myanmar.
The number of casualties at Sunday night’s celebration by the Kachin Independence Organization in the northern state of Kachin appeared to be the most in a single air attack since the military seized power in February last year from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
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At least 11 children dead in Myanmar after military air strike reportedly targeting rebels
It was impossible to independently confirm details of the incident, though media sympathetic to the Kachin posted videos showing what was said to be the attack’s aftermath, with splintered and flattened wooden structures. There was no immediate comment from the military or government media.
Myanmar has been wracked for decades by rebellions by ethnic minorities seeking autonomy, but anti-government resistance increased markedly nationwide with the formation of an armed pro-democracy movement opposing last year’s military takeover.
Sunday’s celebration of the 62nd anniversary of the founding of the Kachin Independence Organization was held at a base also used for military training by the Kachin Independence Army, the KIO’s armed wing. It is located near Aung Bar Lay village in Hpakant township, a remote mountainous area 950 kilometres (600 miles) north of Myanmar’s biggest city, Yangon.