100 killed in Myanmar army airstrike

The news agency AP reported the information on Wednesday (April 12) citing the Myanmar army.

The Associated Press reported this in a report on Wednesday. It is said that the incident took place in the central province of Sagaing on Tuesday morning. The death toll was 53. But later reports from the country's independent media put the death toll at around 100. Sagaing area is located about 110 km west of Yangon. According to the report, most of the dead in the attack on the Pajigi barrage were civilians.

A witness said scores of people gathered outside Pajigi village in Kanbalu town in Myanmar's Sagaing region at 8 a.m. Tuesday for the opening of a local office of the country's opposition group. The army directly attacked the crowd of people present.

The affected area is about 110 kilometers (70 miles) north of Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city.

The witness added that a helicopter arrived about half an hour after the attack and opened fire on the crowd present at the scene.

Initial reports after the attack put the death toll at around 53, the AP said. But later reports from the country's independent media put the death toll at around 100.
Earlier in Myanmar, the People's Defense Forces (PDF) and armed ethnic groups attacked various locations across the country in the past week, killing at least 114 government soldiers. The PDF and armed groups have jointly carried out multiple attacks on the government's Border Guard Forces (BGF). The attack took place in Miwadi Township in Karen State.

The United Nations, the United States and others strongly condemned the attack and pledged to take action to hold the military accountable.

The opposition National Unity Government (NUG) said in a statement, "This heinous attack by the terrorist military is yet another example of their indiscriminate use of extreme force against innocent civilians, a war crime."

Originally the NUG opposed the military and called itself the legitimate government of Myanmar. The office being inaugurated on Tuesday was part of the group's administrative network.

In February 2021, the military overthrew the elected government in Myanmar. In addition, Nobel laureate Suu Kyi was arrested. At that time, the junta government seized power, but the majority of the country's people did not accept it. People from different classes and occupations of the country started protesting against the junta through street protests, boycott of government activities and armed rebellion. Two thousand people have been killed so far.

Many others were injured. Allegations of arresting many people were also made during raids. Many people have been displaced by the torture of the country's soldiers. Not only that, Myanmar's economy has practically stalled since the military coup. There are still reports of fighting between rebel groups and members of the junta forces.