Air strike hits concert in Myanmar, at least 50 killed

Myanmar’s civil war appears to have no end in sight. An air strike killed at least 50 people at a concert in Kachin State yesterday, several news outlets reported. The concert had been held to celebrate the anniversary of the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO).

The number of casualties is believed to be the highest in a single air attack ever since Myanmar’s military took power in February 2021. The Kachin Artists Association claimed that 300-500 people were at the concert. Those killed included a singer, a keyboard player, and Kachin officers and soldiers.

Initial estimates suggested that over 100 civilians had been impacted by the airstrike.

KIO spokesperson Colonel Naw Bu said the junta government intended to target civilians, as it knew that many people attend events for the group’s anniversary, The Irrawaddy reported.

The UN has called the airstrike “excessive and disproportionate use of force by security forces against unarmed civilians.”

The Kachin National Organization posted a video showing the destruction caused by the airstrike on its Facebook page.

The Kachin News Group, a platform that sympathises with the KIO, reported that government forces blocked injured people from being treated at hospitals in nearby towns.

Like many of Myanmar’s beleaguered ethnic groups, the Kachin people have been fighting for greater autonomy. The Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the KIO’s military wing, has been fighting for six decades.

Another ethnic group that the junta has been accused of committing serious crimes against is the Karen hill tribe.

The latest airstrike in Kachin comes after the Burmese junta fired shots at a school in the central Sagaing Region on September 16. UNICEF said that at least 11 children were killed and 17 were injured at the scene. The organisation said that at least 15 other children from the school were missing.

Foreign ministers of Southeast Asian countries are set to hold emergency talks over the current state of Myanmar this week.