Burma: The military of Myanmar claimed responsibility for a deadly attack this week on a village gathering held by its insurgent rivals, and that any civilian deaths occurred as a result of their being coerced into aiding the "terrorists."

According to media reports, the air strike on Tuesday in the Sagaing region of northwest Myanmar resulted in up to 100 fatalities, making it the deadliest in a recent spate of military air attacks.

Since a coup in 2021 put an end to ten years of hesitant reform, including the leadership of Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government, Myanmar has been in turmoil.

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The military has retaliated with airstrikes and heavy weapons, including those used in civilian areas, against those who have risen up in arms and joined ethnic minority insurgents in some places.

According to a spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres "reiterates his call for the military to end the campaign of violence against the Myanmar population in every part of the country." Guterres also condemned the air attack in Sagaing and demanded that those responsible be held accountable.

The National Unity Government (NUG), a shadow government, held a ceremony to honour its armed People's Defense Force, according to Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun, who said late on Tuesday that the attack was intended to bring peace and stability back to the area.

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We carried out the attack during that opening ceremony. The victims were PDF members. They are the ones fighting against the national government and the populace, according to Zaw Min Tun.

According to our on-the-ground information, we struck their weapon storage facility, which exploded and caused casualties, the man said.
He stated that "some people who were forced to support them probably died as well" in response to claims of civilian casualties.

Photographs, according to Zaw Min Tun, showed that some of the dead were wearing uniforms while others were wearing civilian clothing. He accused the PDF of making up civilian deaths when their forces were killed.

Assaulting "monks, teachers, and innocent residents" who did not support the opposition, he also charged PDF members with war crimes.

Before the junta's comment was widely reported, UN Human Rights chief Volker Turk denounced the attack in a statement, saying it "appears schoolchildren performing dances, as well as other civilians... were among the victims."

According to locals, the military attack claimed the lives of between 80 and 100 people, including civilians, according to BBC Burmese, Radio Free Asia (RFA) Burmese, and the Irrawaddy news portal. A PDF member reported that 16 children were among the 100 bodies that had been cremated.

The PDF member who declined to be named said, "The precise death toll is still unclear since... body parts are scattered all over the place."
The sparsely armed opposition fighters in Myanmar lack effective defences against the air force.

At least 50 concertgoers, singers, and members of an ethnic minority insurgent force were killed in Kachin State, in the north, when a military jet attacked the event in October.

The NUG's Kyaw Zaw called Tuesday's attack, in which military jets dropped bombs on villagers and helicopter gunships followed up with gunship fire, "another senseless, barbaric, brutal attack by the military," estimating that close to 100 people perished.

The military disputes claims that it has killed innocent civilians and insists that it is battling "terrorists" who want to undermine the nation.

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For the majority of the last 60 years, the military has ruled Myanmar, claiming that it is the only institution capable of keeping the diverse nation united. Suu Kyi, 77, is currently incarcerated for 33 years for a variety of offences she denied committing, and her political party has dissolved.