Myanmar’s military has launched air attacks on a central town known to be a bastion of opposition to the coup carried out two years ago.
Witnesses and local media said dozens of people were killed and wounded in the attack on Tuesday – one of the worst since the military seized control of the country.
The air raids occurred as residents gathered for the inauguration of an administrative office, Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng reported from Thailand’s capital Bangkok.
“At 7:35am the crowd was attacked by jets and those were followed by Mi-35 helicopters,” said Cheng, citing one rescuer at the scene.
“He confirmed 40 dead but he suspects the death toll will rise considerably – the carnage there was terrible. All the reports we’re seeing is that these were civilians, and far from being a legitimate military target.”
No immediate response from Myanmar’s military rulers was available.
Three first responders were killed in the second attack while rescue work was being carried out, Cheng reported.
Sagaing region – near the second-largest city Mandalay – has put up some of the fiercest resistance to the military’s rule with intense fighting raging there for months.
Graphic video circulating on social media purportedly of the attack show bodies scattered among the ruins of homes. “We are going to rescue you if we hear you screaming,” one person could be heard saying in one video. “Please scream!”
Source: Aljazeera.com
