According to reports,at least 50 people have been killed in Myanmar as a result of military attacks on a rebel gathering.

BBC Burmese, The Irrawaddy, and Radio Free Asia all reported at least 50 deaths and dozens of injuries.The United Nations and Western nations have denounced Myanmar’s ruling junta for carrying out an airstrike on a village in which dozens of people are said to have died.

Volker Turk, the head of the UN’s human rights office, said he was “horrified” by the deadly air strike, which he said killed schoolchildren who were dancing. The international organisation demanded that those responsible be brought to justice.

Unknown is how many people were killed in the early-morning attack on the isolated Kanbalu township in the central Sagaing region on Tuesday.

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In addition to a witness contacted by AFP, BBC Burmese, The Irrawaddy, and Radio Free Asia all reported at least 50 fatalities and numerous injuries.

Late Tuesday night, the junta declared that the strike had occurred, but it did not specify how many people were killed.

Speaking of the armed anti-junta groups that have emerged throughout the nation since the country’s elected government was overthrown in a military coup in 2021, spokesman Zaw Min Tun stated that “(Tuesday) morning around 8 am there was (a People’s Defence Force) office opening ceremony at Pazi Gyi village.

“We assaulted that location.”

Even though “there could be some people with civilian clothes,” he continued, some of the deceased were anti-coup fighters in uniform.

The spokesman continued by blaming some of the deaths on mines that the People’s Defense Force had planted.

The UN, while not confirming a death toll, said several civilians were killed, with Turk accusing Myanmar’s military of violating “clear legal obligations… to protect civilians in the conduct of hostilities” once again.

According to a local monitoring group, the military’s crackdown on dissent in the aftermath of the coup has killed over 3,100 people.

According to his spokesman Stephane Dujarric, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “strongly condemns the attack by the Myanmar Armed Forces today.”

The spokesman continued, saying that Guterres “reiterates his call for the military to end the campaign of violence against the Myanmar population throughout the country.”

Regarding the airstrikes, Washington stated that it was “deeply concerned.”

Vedant Patel, a spokesman for the State Department, used the former name of the nation, Burma, in a statement. “These violent attacks further underscore the regime’s disregard for human life and its responsibility for the dire political and humanitarian crisis in Burma following the February 2021 coup,” he added.

The government of Burma is urged by the United States to put an end to the horrifying violence, permit unrestricted aid deliveries, and respect the people’s sincere desire for inclusive democracy.

Very painful

The Sagaing region, close to Mandalay, the second-largest city in the nation, has put up some of the fiercest resistance to the military’s rule. There have been months of intense fighting there.

In graphic social media videos that AFP has not been able to independently verify, bodies are seen lying around among demolished homes.

In the video, one person is heard saying, “We are going to rescue you if we hear you screaming.” “Scream, please!”

Women and children were among the dead, a rescuer with ties to a People’s Defense Force group told AFP.

He predicted that there could be up to 100 fatalities following the recovery of the bodies and the transportation of victims for medical attention.

The strike was “strongly” condemned by the German Foreign Office in a tweet, which also stated that it expected “the regime to end the violence against its people immediately.”

The strike was referred to as a “heinous act” by Myanmar’s National Unity Government, a shadow government presided over by former lawmakers from the party of deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

In a statement, it said, “We… share the great pain felt by the families affected by this tragedy.”

International condemnation has been directed at the military for razing villages, carrying out mass killings, and using airstrikes against civilians while accusing anti-coup fighters of being terrorists.

In March, more than 30 people who were seeking refuge in a monastery were killed in Shan state.

A military airstrike on a concert hosted by the Kachin Independence Army in northern Kachin state last year resulted in about 50 fatalities and over 70 injuries, according to the rebels.

The junta’s leader, Min Aung Hlaing, vowed to keep persecuting critics during a military parade last month.

Due to insufficient control over the country to hold elections by August, the military announced last month that the state of emergency would be extended for another six months.