Irrawaddy-Oct 24
A junta airstrike that reportedly killed nearly 50 people celebrating the Kachin Independence Organization’s anniversary (KIO) on Sunday night has been condemned as a war crime by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). Three regime warplanes launched the strike on a music concert being held to mark the KIO’s 62nd anniversary at a village near Hpakant, Kachin State. The jet-fighters attacked Ginsi village, located 3 kilometers from Hpakant in an area controlled by KIA Brigade 9. Among those killed were high-ranking officials of the KIA and KIO, famous Kachin ethnic singers, and civilians. Founded on Oct. 25, 1960, the KIO is a powerful Kachin political organization whose armed wing, the KIA, has been fighting the Myanmar government and military for greater state autonomy. Following the coup last year, the KIA has been launching military operations alongside anti-regime forces in Kachin State. The KIO refused to join the junta’s peace talks this year, branding them illegitimate. KIA/KIO spokesperson Colonel Naw Bu said that the regime knows full well that such anniversaries are marked by large numbers of Kachin people and the airstrike was intended to target civilian crowds. “They were shooting at civilians, not at the enemy. This is an evil act, and this is a war crime,” he said. The KIA/KIO has not yet issued an official statement on the number of casualties but local media outlets and residents report that nearly 50 people were killed in the strike. On Monday, Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government (NUG) and its parliamentary wing, the Committee Representing Pyihtaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), condemned the attack and called on the United Nations and the international community to take swift and effective action against the junta. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-juntas-deadly-airstrike-on-kachin-concert-a-war-crime-kia.html
