Wrecked motorbikes lie among the debris of the attack on Pazigyi in northwest Myanmar. Photo / AP
Wrecked motorbikes lie among the debris of the attack on Pazigyi in northwest Myanmar. Photo / AP
Schoolchildren performing dances are among 100 people feared dead after the Myanmar military opened fire on a village ceremony, in what could become the deadliest airstrikes since the junta seized control two years ago.
Myanmar’s air force dropped multiple bombs on Tuesday morning on a village in north-west Sagaing, a region that has staunchly opposed military rule, before a Mi-35 gunship helicopter circled and fired on those fleeing for roughly 20 minutes.
“The jet dropped bombs directly on the crowd, and I jumped into a nearby ditch and hid,” one survivor said. “A few moments later, when I stood up and looked around, I saw people cut to pieces and dead in the smoke.
“The office building was destroyed by fire,” the witness told Associated Press. “While the wounded were being transported, a helicopter arrived and shot more people. We are now cremating the bodies quickly.”
Villagers in Pazigyi had gathered to celebrate the opening of a new administrative office, part of a network established by the opposition National Unity Government. But footage uploaded online shows the event ended in carnage, with bodies, burned motorbikes and skeletons of destroyed buildings shrouded in thick smoke.
Residents told the BBC that it was difficult to count the bodies because they had been blown to pieces, but local media has reported that the death toll stands at around 100, including 20-30 children.
The aftermath of an airstrike in Pazigyi village in Sagaing Region's Kanbalu Township, Myanmar. Photo / AP
The UN’s high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, said he was “horrified” by reports of the air strike on the opening ceremony, which demonstrates the junta’s “blatant disregard for the related rules of international law”.
The military has taken responsibility for the attack but denied killing civilians, instead insisting that it had targeted “terrorists” and the buildings nearby exploded only because of ammunition stored there.
Air strikes have become a central part of the military’s attempts to suppress all opposition since it seized control in a coup in February 2021. As more and more army convoys are ambushed on the roads, the junta is increasingly reliant on these aerial attacks.
According to BBC analysis, there have been at least 600 air strikes since the coup, including a hit on a school that killed nine people on Monday, a strike on a monastery in March where more 20 died, and an attack on a concert in October that killed 50.
“The Myanmar military’s attacks against innocent people, including today’s airstrike in Sagaing, is enabled by world indifference and those supplying them with weapons,” said Tom Andrews, a UN special rapporteur on human rights in the country.
“How many Myanmar children need to die before world leaders take strong, coordinated action to stop this carnage?”
Montse Ferrer, a researcher at Amnesty International, added: “The relentless air attacks across Myanmar highlight the urgent need to suspend the import of aviation fuel. Amnesty reiterates its calls on all states and businesses to stop shipments that may end up in the hands of the Myanmar Air Force.”
Since the coup, which overturned Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government and stoked armed insurgencies across large swathes of the country, more than 3200 civilians have been killed and 1.4 million forced from their homes. The UN estimates that around a third of the population is in need of humanitarian aid.
Aung San Suu Kyi. Photo / AP
The latest violence has sparked a renewed condemnation internationally, with the US urging the military to halt the “horrific violence” and the EU insisting it will “work to hold those responsible fully accountable”.
“Today’s air strike by [the] Myanmar military on [a] public gathering in Sagaing is indefensible,” said Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the foreign minister. “There is no justification for killing innocent civilians.”
