Myanmar has been in turmoil since a 2021 coup, with attacks by ethnic minority armies and resistance fighters challenging the rule of the military
\n Sagaing
\nAt least 50 people were killed in central Myanmar on Tuesday in an air strike by the military on an event attended by opponents to its rule, according to media and members of a local resistance movement.
\nCiting residents in the Sagaing region, BBC Burmese, Radio Free Asia (RFA), and the Irrawaddy news portal reported between 50 and 100 people, including civilians, had died in the attack.
\nReuters could not immediately verify the reports and a spokesperson for the ruling military did not answer a phone call seeking comment.
\nMyanmar has been in turmoil since a 2021 coup, with attacks by ethnic minority armies and resistance fighters challenging the rule of the military, which has responded with air strikes and heavy weapons, including in civilian areas.
\nA member of the local People\u2019s Defense Force (PDF), an anti-junta militia, said fighter jets had fired on a ceremony held to open their local office.
\n\u201cSo far, the exact number of casualties is still unknown. We cannot retrieve all the bodies yet,\u201d said the PDF member, who declined to be identified.
\nAt least 1.2 million people have been displaced by post-coup fighting, according to the United Nations.
\nTuesday\u2019s incident could be one of the deadliest among a string of air strikes since a jet attacked a concert in October, killing at least 50 civilians, local singers and members of an armed ethnic minority group in Kachin State.
\nMyanmar\u2019s pro-democracy government-in-exile, the National Unity Government, condemned the attack, calling it \u201cyet another example of (the military\u2019s) indiscriminate use of extreme force against civilians.\u201d
\nLast month, at least eight civilians including children were killed in an air strike on a village in northwest Myanmar, according to a human rights group, ethnic minority rebels and media.
\nThe military has denied international allegations it has committed atrocities against civilians and says it is fighting \u201cterrorists\u201d determined to destabilize the country.
\nWestern countries have imposed sanctions on the junta and its vast business network to try to choke off its revenue and access to arms from key suppliers like Russia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Myanmar has been in turmoil since a 2021 coup, with attacks by ethnic minority armies and resistance fighters challenging the rule of the military Sagaing At least 50 people were killed in central Myanmar on Tuesday in an air strike by the military on an event attended by opponents to its rule, according to media […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":325290,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-325263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n