NAYPYITAW
Dozens of people have been killed by military government airstrikes while celebrating at a concert in Myanmar, rebel groups have claimed.
Ethnic Kachin groups have said the strikes by Myanmar’s military have killed more than 60 people, including singers and musicians, according to the Associated Press.
Hundreds of people had been attending an anniversary celebration of the minority group’s main political organisation, Kachin Independence (KIO), in a remote mountain area around 600 miles from the country’s biggest city, Yangon.
The KIO is the political wing of the Kachin Independence Army, which controls the area and has clashed with the Myanmar military for decades.
The Kachin Artists Association claimed between 300 and 500 people were at the event, and a Kachin singer and keyboard player were among the dead.
Those killed also included Kachin officers and soldiers, and at least 10 Kachin military and business VIPs sitting in front of the stage, it said.
A local politician, who wouldn’t give his name for safety reasons, said “60 people were killed in the attack” – but this figure has not been independently verified.
As it stands, the number of casualties at Sunday night’s celebration appear to be the most in a single air attack since the military seized power in February.
