A witness says that a fighter plane dropped a bomb directly into the crowd, and half an hour later a helicopter appeared and fired at the scene. The junta’s spokesperson, General Zaw Min Tun, confirms that civilians were also bombed. Photo: YE AUNG THU / AFP The attack could prove to be one of the deadliest in a series of airstrikes since 50 civilians were killed during a concert in October. The military junta in Myanmar confirms having carried out an airstrike against a village in the north of the country in which up to 100 people were killed. A member of the local resistance group PDF told the Reuters news agency that the airstrike targeted an opening ceremony for their local office. A silent protest against the military junta. Photo: Stringer. / Reuters According to witnesses, between 50 and 100 people were killed in the attack that took place on Tuesday, Reuters reports, citing BBC Burma, Radio Free Asia and the Irrawaddy. UN chief horrified UN human rights chief Volker Turk says he is horrified by reports of the attack in the Sagaing region near Mandalay. – It seems that school children who performed a dance and other civilians who were present at an opening ceremony were among the victims, he said. UN human rights chief Volker Turk. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP The UN chief accuses the authorities of ignoring their duty to protect civilians. Spokesman for the military junta, Zaw Min says some of those killed were opponents of the junta’s coup and that they were dressed in uniform. Admits that civilians were attacked The spokesman admits that “there may have been some people in civilian clothes” there. – The People’s Defense Force (PDF) held an opening ceremony of its office on Tuesday morning at 8 o’clock in the village of Pazi Gyi. We attacked that place, says junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun. There will be many civilians among the victims of the bomb attack this week. Photo: AP – According to information we have received from the ground, people were not killed just as a result of our attack. The PDF had planted some mines around the area, says the junta’s spokesman, who adds that the airstrike also knocked out a storage area where gunpowder and mines were stored. Forced dissolution of Suu Kyi’s party On March 29, it became known that the junta forcibly dissolved the party of the country’s deposed civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. 39 other parties were also forcibly dissolved for not having registered in time for a possible upcoming election, which is expected to consolidate the junta’s grip on power, writes NTB. The military junta has forcibly dissolved the party of Aung San Suu Kyi. Photo: Aung Shine Oo / AP The United States was among the countries that quickly condemned the act. – We strongly condemn the decision of Burma’s military regime to remove 40 parties, including the National Democracy League, says spokesman Vedant Patel in the US State Department. He uses the old name of the Southeast Asian country. – Any election without the participation of all stakeholders in Burma cannot be considered free or fair. Given the widespread opposition to the military rule, the regime’s move towards elections alone will probably increase instability, says Patel. The military deposed Suu Kyi and took power in a coup in February 2021. Since then, Suu Kyi has been sentenced to 33 years in prison in several trials that are considered to be politically motivated. The junta had promised to hold elections by August this year, but this has later been postponed indefinitely. Concert attacked The attack on Tuesday this week may turn out to be one of the deadliest in a series of airstrikes since 50 civilians were killed during a concert in October. The military has increasingly started using combat aircraft to stop an increasingly extensive armed rebellion against the junta that took power in February 2021. Over 3,000 civilians have probably been killed since then. Supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi demonstrate against the junta in Bangkok in neighboring Thailand on February 1, 2021. Photo: Sakchai Lalit/AP
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UN chief terrorized – school children among victims in Myanmar – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
