(Rangoon) The military junta in Burma has confirmed that it carried out an airstrike which left dozens dead in a village, an attack immediately condemned by the international community.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said he was “horrified” after the attack and the world organization called for those responsible to be brought to justice.
“It seems that children who were dancing, along with other civilians, during the opening ceremony of a center in Pazi Gyi village, Kanbalu district, were among the victims,” Türk said. in a press release.
At least 50 dead and dozens injured have been reported by BBC Burmese, The Irrawaddy and Radio Free Asia, but the death toll could rise to 100 according to a rescue worker from an armed rebel group contacted by AFP.
“There was an opening ceremony of a People’s Defense Force (PDF) office… (Tuesday) morning around 8 am in Pazi Gyi village. We attacked this place,” confirmed junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun.
He said some of the dead were uniformed anti-coup fighters and he acknowledged “there could be people wearing civilian clothes”, but did not cite a death toll.
“According to the information we have obtained on the ground, the people killed are not just because of our attack. There were mines planted by the PDF around this area,” he said.
Washington said it was “deeply concerned” by the attacks, which “underscore once again the regime’s disregard for human life and its responsibility for the terrible political and humanitarian crisis that has plagued Burma since the February coup.” 2021,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said in a statement.
“The United States calls on the Burmese regime to end this horrific violence, allow unhindered humanitarian access, and respect the true democratic and inclusive aspirations of the Burmese people,” he added.
Witnesses contacted by AFP also reported around a hundred deaths. Videos circulating on social networks (the authenticity of which AFP could not confirm) show bodies scattered in houses in ruins.
A hundred dead?
The death toll could rise to 100, according to a rescuer from an armed rebel group, who told AFP the presence of women and children among the victims.
Mr. Türk accused the Burmese army of having once again ignored “clear legal obligations […] to protect civilians in the conduct of hostilities” and to have shown “blatant disregard for the rules of international law relating thereto”.
In a tweet, the German Foreign Ministry also condemned on Tuesday evening “the Burmese army airstrike which killed dozens of civilians, including children”.
“Our hearts go out to the victims and families. We demand that the regime cease all violence against the population immediately,” added the text.
The National Unity Government (NUG), a body founded by former deputies of Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, many of them in exile and which federates an opposition party to the junta, denounced a “new example of indiscriminate use of extreme force against innocent civilians”.
The Sagaing region, near Mandalay, the country’s second largest city, is fiercely resisting the junta, and intense fighting has been going on there for months.
The High Commissioner said there were “reasonable grounds to believe that the military and its affiliated militias are responsible for a wide range of human rights violations and abuses since 1er February 2021”.
Burma has been torn apart by a violent conflict between the junta and its opponents since the coup d’etat of 1er February 2021.
The Burmese army is banking on its air advantage, thanks to its Russian and Chinese-made jets, to compensate for its difficulties on the ground, facing rebel groups which control parts of the country.
The United Nations counted more than 300 airstrikes in 2022, as well as several incidents involving civilian casualties.