Global Courant 2023-04-12 04:56:26
BANGKOK – According to local media reports and a witness contacted by AFP, dozens of people in central Myanmar were killed in airstrikes on Tuesday as the United Nations and Western powers condemned the attacks and demanded accountability.
The Southeast Asian country has been in chaos and its economy in tatters since the military takeover in February 2021.
UN rights chief Volker Turk said he was “appalled” by the deadly airstrikes where he said schoolchildren dance performances were among the victims, with the global body calling for those responsible to be brought to justice.
The death toll from the early Tuesday morning strike in remote Kanbalu township in Sagaing region is unclear.
At least 50 dead and dozens injured were reported by BBC Burmese, The Irrawaddy and Radio Free Asia.
While not confirming a toll, the United Nations said several civilians were killed, with Turk accusing Myanmar’s military of again ignoring “clear legal obligations… to protect civilians when conducting hostilities”.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “strongly condemns the attack by Myanmar’s armed forces today,” said a statement from his spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
Mr Guterres “reiterates his call for the military to end the campaign of violence against the Myanmar people across the country,” the spokesman added.
Washington said it was “deeply concerned” about the airstrikes.
“These violent attacks further underline the regime’s disregard for human life and its responsibility for the dire political and humanitarian crisis in Burma following the February 2021 coup,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Vedant Patel said in a statement. using the former name of the country.
“The United States calls on the Burmese regime to end the horrific violence, allow humanitarian aid to flow unimpeded, and respect the sincere and inclusive democratic aspirations of the people of Burma.”
‘severe pain’
The Sagaing region – near the country’s second largest city, Mandalay – has seen some of the fiercest resistance to the military’s rule, with intense fighting raging there for months.
Graphic video clips circulating on social media – footage that AFP has been unable to verify – show bodies scattered among destroyed homes.
