Arakan News Desk: At least 29 people, including women and children was killed on Monday midnight in a refugee camp near Myanmar-China border on an artillery strike. According to media and sources, this is one of the deadliest attacks on civilians since the return of military rule.
As per report it was around midnight on Monday in Kachin State, when the military hit the camp about 5 km (3 miles) from a base in the border town of Laiza run by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), which has been in conflict for years with Myanmar’s military.
Reuters could not independently verify the death toll and spokespersons for the junta and the KIA could not immediately be reached for comment but Kachin media outlets have informed that almost 30 people were killed and alleged the military for the horrific strike on civilians.
Myanmar has been embroiled in a brutal conflict in multiple regions in the wake of a 2021 coup, with ethnic minority armies and a resistance movement battling to undermine military rule after a fierce crackdown by security forces.
The military typically denies targeting civilians and blames “terrorists” for violence. Laiza is the capital of KIA, among the largest of dozens of ethnic groups that have been battling the military for decades.
The United Nations has condemned the attack, calling it a “flagrant violation of international law”. The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has also called for an immediate end to the violence and for the perpetrators to be held accountable.