Bangkok, Feb 8 (EFE).- Myanmar military air strikes that killed 17 people as they gathered for church last month must be investigated as war crimes, Amnesty International said Thursday.
On Jan. 7, the military carried out air strikes that damaged the church, a school and civilian houses in Kanan village, Sagaing region. Nine children were among those killed, and another 20 people were injured.
“The Myanmar military’s deadly attacks on civilians show no signs of stopping,” said Matt Wells, director of Amnesty’s Crisis Response Program.
“The world cannot continue to look the other way while the Myanmar military relentlessly attacks civilians and civilian targets, including churches, schools and hospitals. Countries and companies around the world must stop the flow of jet fuel to the military, to protect civilians from further catastrophe,” added Wells.
“These attacks must be investigated as war crimes, and the UN Security Council (UNSC) should refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court. The perpetrators of these crimes under international law must be brought to justice.”
Russia and China, countries close to the Myanmar junta, are permanent members of the UNSC and in the past have vetoed votes against the country’s military.
The junta has denied that its planes carried out the Jan. 7 attack, but Amnesty said that it had examined videos taken during the strike that show a China-made A-5 fighter jet, which are only used by the military junta in the country.
Amnesty analyzed photographs and videos and interviewed witnesses to the attack in Kanan, where Christians from the Chin minority mostly live.
“We only knew about it when the bomb fell. We didn’t hear the plane. We were singing inside the church when it happened. The church’s ceiling collapsed and windows were broken, so people inside the church fled outside,” a 68-year-old witness told AI.
In recent months, the military has resorted to air and artillery attacks to try to stop the rebel offensive in several regions of the country.
Amnesty and other organizations have repeatedly called for preventing the sale or transfer of jet fuel to Myanmar.
One of the deadliest air attacks was in April 2023 when junta planes used thermobaric munition (‘enhanced blast’ or fuel-air explosive) in air strikes against civilians in rebel-held territory in Sagaing region, killing more than 160 people.
The military coup of Feb. 1, 2021 plunged Myanmar into deep political, social and economic crises and the formation of new civilian militias have exacerbated decades of guerrilla warfare.
At least 4,500 people, including pro-democracy activists and civilians, have died as a result of the security forces’ repression since the coup, according to data from local NGO Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. EFE
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