At least 60 dead after an attack by Burma’s military junta on a concert by a separatist group

BANGKOK, Oct. 24 (DPA/EP) –

At least 60 people have died after a bombing launched by the Burmese military junta on a concert that was held in the state of Kachin (north) on the occasion of the anniversary of the creation of a separatist group in the region.

“We lost our people, our artists and our brothers and sisters. We will never forget this ugly action and they have to pay for it,” one of the musicians present at the concert, organized to celebrate the 62nd anniversary of the birth of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO).

KIO, formed by members of the Kachin ethnic group, has been fighting for decades against the Burma Army and has shown its support for the civil resistance against the coup carried out last year by the military junta.

Burma has been under the control of a coup military junta since February last year that decided to seize power by force after rejecting the results of the elections held in November 2020.

Since then, the military has persecuted the main officials of the previous civilian government, including the activist Aung San Suu Kyi, now in prison, and violently repressed protests against her.

The Burmese NGO Association for Aid to Political Prisoners (AAPP) estimates that almost 2,400 people have died in military repression and that some 15,900 remain detained and deprived of their rights since the February coup.