Airstrike massacre: Myanmar junta turns up the heat

Picture courtesy of Bangkok Post.

The situation in Myanmar just escalated. Northwest Myanmar’s Sagaing area felt the full force of a junta airstrike on Tuesday, which reportedly wiped out up to 100 people – children included.

Myanmar’s been a mess since the 2021 coup decided to ruin everyone’s lives and snuffed out a decade of shaky progress. The coup put an end to the civilian government guided by none other than Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

Now, the military’s busy flexing its muscles, dropping air strikes and busting out heavy weapons – civilian areas included.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had a thing or two to say about Sagaing’s unfortunate situation. He condemned the attack and urged those responsible to face the music.

Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun did his best to justify the airstrike, saying it was all in the name of restoring peace and stability.

National Unity Government (NUG) spokesman Kyaw Zaw wasn’t buying it, though. He guesses that nearly 100 people met their end in the attack, which involved air force jets and helicopter gunships swooping in without mercy. He slammed the military’s actions as “senseless, barbaric, brutal.”

The aftershocks have rippled across the border as Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha keeps tabs on Myanmar refugees seeking sanctuary in various districts of Thailand. But with chaos reigning supreme, there’s no telling what’s coming next.

World News

Mitch Connor

Mitch is a Bangkok resident, having relocated from Southern California, via Florida in 2022. He studied journalism before dropping out of college to teach English in South America. After returning to the US, he spent 4 years working for various online publishers before moving to Thailand.

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