At least 30 people were killed in an airstrike during a performance by an ethnic Myanmar minority, opposition groups and local media reported on Monday. The Asian country has been ruled by a military junta since February 2021.
The attack reportedly took place in the northern state of Kachin, where the eponymous ethnic group resides. The episode was not confirmed by the military, but civilians and members of the Kachin Independence Army, a local militia, were said to have died, according to the opposition.
The group’s spokesman, Naw Bu, told Reuters the attack was aimed at commemorating the 62nd anniversary of the formation of the Kachin army’s political arm, the Kachin Independence Organization. “The attack was intentional; this is a vicious act that should be considered a war crime.”
The information could not be independently confirmed. Since the coup, Myanmar has experienced frequent episodes of violence. Opposition movements, some of them armed, have sprung up across the country, and the regime is trying to repress them.
The Kachin Army has been fighting for greater autonomy for the ethnic minority for six decades and is one of the main voices against the military in power.
The parallel government of National Unity, an alliance of groups against the coup and in favor of the resumption of democracy, said it was saddened by the loss of civilians and urged the UN and the international community to intervene urgently.
“Military deliberately committed another mass murder with aerial bombings aimed at a large public show; this act clearly violates international law,” it said in a statement.
The United Nations has more than once publicly criticized the military’s seizure of power, accusing it of crimes against humanity for the killing of civilians. The junta, in turn, claims that its actions are aimed at combating terrorism on national soil.
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