LAIZA, Kachin State – Munglai Hkyet village, near Myanmar’s border with China, was targeted in a lethal junta attack on Monday night. At least 29 people, including 11 children ranging in age from infancy to 16 years old, were confirmed dead.
The 50-household Munglai Hkyet, where 100 displaced families had also been sheltering in a camp, is located less than three miles north of the Laiza headquarters of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), an ethnic armed organization that has been fighting the Myanmar army for decades. However, locals pointed out that there are no KIA posts in the immediate vicinity, emphasizing that Munglai Hkyet was a civilian target.
All the victims of the midnight assault were internally displaced persons. The survivors said that the first shell or bomb exploded at around 11:30 pm while most people were sleeping. As they awoke and fled the blast, at least four more followed.
On Tuesday, KIA spokesperson Col. Naw Bu named the junta as the perpetrator of the attack. Regime spokesperson Maj-Gen Zaw Min Tun responded to the accusation in pro-army media outlets by saying that the military was still investigating the reason for the ‘explosion’ in Laiza, denying responsibility.
Families and community leaders held a funeral on Tuesday afternoon for the victims of the midnight assault on Munglai Hkyet village at a cemetery in Laiza, the headquarters of the KIA.
(Photographs by CJ)
