An artillery strike on a refugee camp in Myanmar has killed at least 29 people, including women and children, according to SkyNews.
Around midnight on Monday, the camp in Kachin State, three miles from the base in the town of Laiza, which borders China, was struck. The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) runs the city, which has been in conflict with Myanmar’s military junta for many years.
Khon Ja, an activist with the Kachin Peace Network Civil society, said she had visited the local hospital and was told 29 people were dead and 59 injured. She claimed:
“The bomb was too strong… the village was totally destroyed and disappeared.”
Sky News journalists were unable to receive independent information on the death toll.
The shadowy National Unity Government (NUG) held the Myanmar military junta responsible for the attack, condemned it as a brutal attack on civilians, and called on the world to take action to stop the atrocities and bring Myanmar’s generals to justice. NUG spokesperson Kyaw Zaw said:
“This act of military council is war crime and crime against humanity.”
He added the attack at the border with China had showed the junta did not respect its neighbour’s demand for peace and stability. A spokesperson for the junta said the military was not responsible. Zaw Min Tun told People Media, adding the explosion may have involved an ethnic rebel group’s own munitions, said:
“We are investigating. We always take care of border peace situation.”
A military junta seized power in the country in a coup in 2021. The country was embroiled in violent conflict in several regions. A series of mass protests followed, which were violently suppressed by security forces. Ethnic minority armies and resistance movements continue to fight to overthrow the military.
The tense situation has displaced more than a million people, according to the United Nations. The United Nations in Myanmar posted a Facebook message expressing deep concern over reports of the incident, adding that “civilians should never be the target”.
Numerous pictures have appeared on social media showing victims lying on the floor and body bags lined up. Other pictures showed men in military uniforms sifting through debris and one man carrying the body of a small child.
