Airstrike in Burma Kills Dozens of Concertgoers in Kachin Rebel Territory, Reports Say

Burmese junta fighter jets flyover the capital Naypyidaw on March 27, 2022. STR/AFP via Getty Images

The Burmese military on Sunday launched airstrikes on a music festival hosted by an ethnic minority group in northern Kachin State, killing at least 50 civilians and injuring 100 more, according to local reports.

Three military jets dropped bombs on A Nang Pa in Hpakant Township—where hundreds of people gathered to celebrate the 62^nd anniversary of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO)—at 8.30 p.m. (local time).

The attack reportedly killed 50 people and wounded 100 more, Myanmar Now said, while the Associated Press put the death toll at 80. The Epoch Times could not independently confirm the figures.

Two Kachin singers and a keyboard player were among those who were killed.

KIO’s spokesperson Colonel Naw Bu said the military regime in Burma (also known as Myanmar) had deliberately launched airstrikes on Hpakant to target civilians rather than the KIO army.

“There was no fighting that had broken out between us and the military,” Naw Bu told Myanmar Now. “They bombed the event on purpose knowing that there were many civilians there. This is inhumane and a war crime.”

Zay Thu Aung, an air force pilot who defected after the military coup in February last year, said the military jets used in the raid were likely Russian-made Yak-130 model aircraft.

“It is very possible that they used Yak-130s because that kind of jet can drop 500-pound bombs or 1,100 pounds bombs at night,” Zay Thu Aung told the news outlet.

‘Ruthless Disregard’

International human rights groups condemned the attack and demanded that Burmese authorities provide immediate medical treatment to those injured in the attack.

The United Nations said that over 100 civilians may have been affected by the attack.

“What would appear to be excessive and disproportionate use of force by security forces against unarmed civilians is unacceptable and those responsible must be held to account,” the U.N. said in a statement.

Hana Young, the deputy regional director for Amnesty International, said the attack appeared to fit “a pattern of unlawful aerial attacks” by the military that has targeted civilians in areas controlled by armed groups.

“The military has shown ruthless disregard for civilian lives in its escalating campaign against opponents. It is difficult to believe the military did not know of a significant civilian presence at the site of this attack,” Young said in a statement.

Amnesty International urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to ramp up measures to call the military to cease its escalating repression amid the upcoming ASEAN high-level meetings.

“[The Burmese military] has been able to carry out these crimes in the face of an ineffective international response to a human rights crisis that is only worsening,” Young said.

The military junta led by top general Min Aung Hlaing ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected civilian government in a military coup in February last year, sparking widespread anti-coup protests in Burma.

At least 1,600 people have been killed and more than 12,500 people detained, while 440,000 more people have been displaced since the military seized power, according to the United Nations.