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50 die in Myanmar junta airstrike on ethnic rebel group concert

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Kyodo News

<p>YANGON - An airstrike by Myanmar&#x27;s military on a music concert recently held by an ethnic rebel group killed at least 50 people, including artists and civilians, local media reported Monday.</p><p>The attack, swiftly condemned by the United Nations which called for those responsible to be held accountable, occurred at an area controlled by the Kachin Independence Army in Myanmar&#x27;s northernmost Kachin State on Sunday night during the event.</p><p>The Myanmar military, in a statement issued late Monday, confirmed the airstrikes did take place but did not provide the exact casualty figures, only saying a rebel commander and his deputy were among those killed.</p><p>A local resident told Kachin News Group that three military fighter jets dropped bombs in the area during the concert.</p><p>Several famous local Kachin vocalists and artists were reportedly among those killed.</p><p>Sunday&#x27;s event was part of the celebration for the 62nd anniversary of the founding of the KIA&#x27;s political wing, the Kachin Independence Organization.</p><p>Naw Bu, the spokesman for the KIA, told local media an incident like this &quot;targeting civilians will hurt the peace process&quot; and reinforce distrust of the military.</p><p>The KIA has been fighting the military since the February 2021 coup that overthrew the democratically elected national government led by Aung San Suu Kyi.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/10/12/22/myanmar-junta-courts-prolong-japanese-journalist-suu-kyi-jail-terms">Myanmar junta courts prolong Japanese journalist, Suu Kyi jail terms</a></li></ul><p>In a statement, National Unity Government, a group set up by pro-democracy forces as a shadow government, urged the &quot;international community including the United Nations to take effective actions urgently to stop the terrorist military from perpetrating atrocities which include deliberate airstrikes targeting civilians.&quot;</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/10/05/22/myanmar-junta-leader-not-invited-to-asean-summit">Myanmar junta leader not invited to ASEAN summit: Cambodia</a></li></ul><p>The United Nations in Myanmar said in a separate statement it is &quot;deeply concerned and saddened&quot; by reports of the attack.</p><p>&quot;What would appear to be excessive and disproportionate use of force by security forces against unarmed civilians is unacceptable,&quot; it said.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/08/01/22/myanmar-junta-extends-state-of-emergency">Myanmar junta extends state of emergency</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/07/28/22/un-security-council-condemns-myanmar-executions">UN Security Council condemns Myanmar executions</a></li></ul><div><strong>==Kyodo</strong></div><div><strong>FROM THE ARCHIVES</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Fu-UZmlSLmw?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

An airstrike by Myanmar's military on a music concert recently held by an ethnic rebel group killed at least 50 people, including artists and civilians, local media reported Monday.