YANGON: More than 100 people, including 16 children, were killed in an airstrike by the army against a rebel program in Myanmar. International media reported that the death toll could rise further. The incident took place at Pazigyi village in the North-West Sagaing region around 6 am on Tuesday, India time. The UN condemned the attack.
The airstrikes were targeted at those attending the inauguration of the office of a rebel group named People's Defense Force. The explosion of a nearby weapons depot added to the casualties. Dead bodies of rebel soldiers and civilians are scattered all over the spot.
The children who were killed had come to give a dance performace. A military plane flew over the village and dropped bombs on the hall where the program was held. After that, helicopters attacked the village for 20 minutes. The army retreated after a while, but there was heavy firing again when people came near the dead bodies. The army, which confirmed the attack, responded that if civilians had been killed, they had come to help the terrorists.
Two years, 600 attacks