US condemns Myanmar military for Christmas Eve killings, seeks end to arm sales
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken decries ‘widespread atrocities’ and urges a global response
- China, which has maintained support of Myanmar following the military coup in February, is the country’s leading arms supplier
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has condemned the Myanmar military’s killing of dozens of civilians on Christmas Eve, calling for an end to arms sales to the country’s ruling junta and urging a global response to its “atrocities”.
The Friday attack, which occurred on a highway in the eastern Myanmar state of Kayah, left at least 35 dead, the international aid group Save the Children reported.
According to the charity, which said two of its workers were among the dead, the Myanmar military forced people out of their cars, arrested some and killed others, before burning their bodies.
Using the country’s former name, Blinken expressed alarm on Tuesday at the military regime’s “brutality” and said that its “widespread atrocities against the people of Burma underscore the urgency of holding its members accountable.”
“The international community must do more to advance this goal and prevent the recurrence of atrocities in Burma, including by ending the sale of arms and dual-use technology to the military,” Blinken added.
In February, the Myanmar military seized power from the country’s democratically elected government, quashing protests with deadly force. Since the coup, the military junta has killed 1,380 people, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a Myanmar-focused advocacy group.