Myanmar military admits to air strike on anti-junta gathering; up to 100 feared dead

Name: Myanmar junta chief vows to take ‘decisive action’ against opponents and ethnic rebel fighters
Uploaded: 2023-04-12T03:11:12.000Z
Duration: 2 min 19 s
Description: Myanmar junta chief vows to take ‘decisive action’ against opponents and ethnic rebel fighters

As many as 100 people, including schoolchildren performing dances, were killed in the early morning strike on a remote township

An eyewitness said an aircraft ‘dropped bombs directly on the crowd’ before a helicopter gunship arrived to mow down any survivors

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A helicopter gunship is seen firing rockets. Witnesses said a Myanmar military helicopter fired at the site in Kanbalu township after a jet had dropped bombs on the area. Photo: Russian Defence Ministry Press Service via AP

Agencies

Published: 11:11am, 12 Apr 2023Updated: 8:40pm, 12 Apr 2023

Myanmar’s ruling junta has confirmed that it carried out an air strike on a village that killed as many as 100 people, including children, who were attending a ceremony held by opponents of army rule.

The military is increasingly using air strikes to counter a widespread armed struggle against its rule, which began in February 2021 when it seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. More than 3,000 civilians are estimated to have been killed since then by security forces.

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

The death toll from the early Tuesday morning strike on the remote Kanbalu township in the central Sagaing region remains unclear.

02:19

Myanmar junta chief vows to take ‘decisive action’ against opponents and ethnic rebel fighters

At least 50 fatalities and dozens of injuries were reported by BBC Burmese, The Irrawaddy and Radio Free Asia, as well as a witness contacted. Later tallies reported by independent media raised it to about 100. It was impossible to independently confirm details of the attack because reporting is restricted by the military government.