Twenty-nine displaced people including 11 children were killed and 57 others severely wounded in an airstrike on Mung Lai Hkyet IDP camp near Laiza, the headquarters of Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) at midnight on 9 October, according to the KIO’s statement.
The military council has denied this attack. The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) is still investigating what kind of weapon the military council used in the attack, said Colonel Nawbu, Spokesperson of the KIO.
Colonel Naw Bu said: “We could not hear the sound of the plane, but the situation is an airstrike. Or else, it may be a drone attack. Another thing is that it may be an attack with a long-range rocket. We have formed an investigation committee in order to know the details of the situation. We will reply only after the investigation committee gets the answer.”
Regarding the Mung Lai Hkyet IDP camp in Laiza, Major General Zaw Min Tun, Spokesperson of the military council told local media that the army can attack every headquarters of armed insurgents. However, it did not carry out the attack.”
The bodies of those killed in the attack were buried in In hka rawat kaung village in Laiza on 10 October.
“The displaced people can’t stay there as the houses are broken into pieces. So, they take refuge in Woi Chyai. The number of displaced people is around 200. There are no people in the area where the explosion occurred. Members of the KIA are carrying out search and rescue operations there,” a local man from Mung Lai Hkyet said.
At the current session of “78th” United Nations General Assembly, U Kyaw Moe Tun, permanent representative of Myanmar to the United Nations made a statement about the military council’s bombing on Mung Lai Hkyet IDP camp near the KIO’s headquarters.
Regarding the Mung Lai Hkyet attack, the National Unity Government (NUG) issued a statement, saying that it shares the same grief with the Kachin ethnic people and will try to bring justice for the losses.
In addition, Kachin Human Rights Watch (KHRW) issued a statement, strongly condemning the actions of the military and requesting the international tribunal to take immediate action against the military council for committing war crimes.
UNICEF Myanmar said it is deeply shocked and saddened to hear that civilians, including innocent children, have been killed in the airstrike on an IDP camp in Laiza. Children and civilians are never the targets of terrorist attacks.
Sent by KNG