Conflicts & War

Intl. community pans bombing of more than 100 Myanmar civilians

Bangkok, Apr 12 (EFE).- The United States, the European Union and the United Nations condemned a Tuesday airstrike by the Myanmar army on civilians, which some sources say killed more than 100 people, including dozens of children, in one of the worst massacres since the 2021 coup.

“The EU is deeply shocked by the reports about the latest atrocity committed by the military regime in Sagaing, which claimed the lives of dozens of innocent civilians. We continue to work to hold those responsible accountable,” said Nabila Massrali , EU Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, on social media.

The Myanmar Air Force bombed an inauguration ceremony for an administrative office linked to the opposition National Unity Government (NUG), which claims to be Myanmar’s legitimate post-coup authority, Tuesday in the Sagaing town of Pazigyi, a main rebel stronghold.

A NUG spokesman told EFE at least 50 people died, while other local media said more than 100 may have died, including dozens of children and women, since it is estimated that up to 150 people were at an event that served food for town residents.

According to the same spokesman, fighters returned to bomb the town when volunteers searched for survivors among the rubble and tended to bodies.

“The Myanmar Army’s attacks on innocents, including the airstrike in Sagaing, are made possible by the indifference of the world and those who supply them with weapons. How many Myanmar children must die before world leaders take strong and coordinated action to stop this carnage?” UN rapporteur for Myanmar Tom Andrews wrote on Twitter.

The reactions against the air attack were joined by spokespersons from Washington and London, among other countries.

“These violent attacks further underscore the regime’s disregard for life and its responsibility for the grave political and humanitarian crisis in Myanmar following the February 2021 coup,” Vedant Patel, US state department spokesman, said in a statement.

Patel also called on the military junta to “cease the horrible violence” and to allow humanitarian aid access “without hindrances,” as well as to respect the “genuine” democratic aspirations of the Myanmar people.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan, United Kingdom minister for the Indo-Pacific, called the attack “indefensible.”

“There is no justification for killing innocent civilians,” she said on Twitter.

The Myanmar army, accused of crimes against humanity by the UN for its attacks against the Rohingya Muslim minority, has repeatedly resorted to airstrikes to appease the insurgency, largely made up of civilians who oppose the regime. In October, it bombed a ceremony organized by an ethnic guerrilla where about 80 people died.

On Mar. 27, military junta leader Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said he would “firmly appease” the resistance during a military parade for Armed Forces Day, with a focus on the NUG, made up in part of former parliamentarians of the ousted civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi, and its armed wing, the People’s Defense Forces (PDF). EFE

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