Residents of a camp for displaced persons in Myanmar’s Laiza held a mass funeral for those killed in military airstrike on the intervening night of Monday & Tuesday. Pics/AFP
As many as 29 people died and dozens others were wounded after a military strike on the camp in northern Myanmar, the spokesperson of the ethnic rebel group Kachin Independence Army had told the media persons.
Of the 29 killed in the airstrike, 11 were children under the age of 11, said Col Naw Bu, spokesperson of KIA. He added that 57 others were injured in the attacks carried out by air and artillery.
Laiza, a town which is 324 kilometres northeast of Mandalay, Myanmar's second-biggest city, is the headquarters of the ethnic rebel group.
Myanmar (erstwhile Burma) has been in turmoil since military overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 triggering widespread opposition. The military rule opponents took up arms after their peaceful protests had been thwarted with lethal force which led to present conflict.
The military government has stepped up use of airstrikes to combat the rebel groups especially the armed pro-democracy Peoples Defence Forces and ethnic minority guerrilla groups like in Kachin fighting for autonomy.
Although the military claims it targets only armed guerrilla forces and facilities, there’s enough evidence to substantiate that churches and schools have also been hit and many civilians were killed or wounded like in Laiza.
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