Myanmar anti-regime activists condole death of Hpakant victims killed in Junta’s deadly air strikes

Days after the deadly airstrike by Myanmar’s Junta troops that claimed the lives of at least 60 people at a music concert in the A Nang Pa region of Hpakant Township, Kachin State, the anti-regime activists and residents in Sagaing Region’s Kale Township held a memorial service on October 26.

Local residents alleged that about 60 people were killed and nearly 100 others injured in the deadly air strike.

The nighttime bombings on Sunday killed more than 60 people including civilians, resistance fighters and ethnic Kachin artists and left several injured.

The concert was staged to celebrate the 62nd anniversary of the founding of the Ethnic Kachin Independence Army (KIA) which has been battling Myanmar's Junta.

However, the Junta denied targeting civilians.

On the other hand, the Ayadaw Strike Committee marched on Monywa-Ayadaw Road in Sagaing Region, waving Kachin flags, and calling on people to turn their sadness for those killed in the junta’s nighttime air strikes in Hpakant township into revolutionary strength and commitment.

Meanwhile, reacting to the airstrike, KIA/KIO spokesperson Colonel Naw Bu said that the Junta regime knows well that such anniversaries are marked by large numbers of Kachin people and the airstrike was intended to target civilian crowds.

“They were shooting at civilians, not at the enemy. This is an evil act, and this is a war crime. We are grieving over the deaths of our people,” he said.

It is to be mentioned here that renowned Kachin singers Aurali and Galau Yaw Lwi were among those killed on the spot while other Kachin ethnic celebrities were injured, according to locals. 

The KIA also confirmed that the commander of its Brigade 9 was also killed in the attack.

Colonel Naw Bu said the attack had slammed the door to peace between the KIA/KIO and the Myanmar military.

“The hatred felt by the Kachin people for the military has just soared. The revolution will therefore only get stronger. The Kachin people and KIA will redouble their efforts in the Spring Revolution to uproot the military dictatorship,” Colonel Naw Bu told.

Captain Zay Thu Aung, an air force pilot who defected after the coup, told that the jet fighters responsible for the strike were probably either Yak-130s or MIG-29s as both are capable of night-time attacks.

He said the jets were likely to be from Tada-U in Mandalay Region as this is the closest regime airbase to Hpakant.