(CNN) — About 100 people, including women and children, died following the myanmar military junta shelled the Kant Balu township in the S once moreg region on Tuesday, according to the shadow government of the ousted administration.
The attack caused “the loss of dozens of innocent civilians and the injury of many more, including children and pregnant women,” the National Unity Government (NUG) Ministry of Labor said in a statement, describing it as a “heinous act” constituting “a war crime”.
Local news outlet The Irrawaddy reported that a board plane dropped two bombs and fired into the town as people gathered for the inauguration of a new office in the town.
The military junta has not yet made a public statement on the alleged attack. CNN has reached out to a spokesperson for the military junta but has yet to hear back.
Photos and videos shared by The Irrawaddy and other local media show the bodies of the victims, as well as buildings, vehicles and debris destroyed following the airstrike. CNN was unable to confirm the authenticity of the video and photos.
NUG Union Prime Minister Mahn Winn Khine Thann said on Twitter that he was “heartbroken” by the “air massacre.”
Thousands of people have been killed in Myanmar since the military seized power in a coup in February 2021.
The junta ousted the democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was later sentenced to 33 years in jail during secret trials. It cracked down on anti-coup protests, arresting journalists, holding political prisoners and executing several prominent pro-democracy activists, drawing condemnation from the United Nations (UN) and human rights groups.
Two years later, the Southeast Asian country is being rocked by violence and instability. The economy has collapsed, with food, fuel and other basic supplies in short supply.
Last month, the US imposed a new series of sanctions on two people with suspected ties to the military and three companies they own, according to a statement from the State Department.
UN: Myanmar Army Attack “Facilitated by Global Indifference”
The UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, said Tuesday that global indifference to the situation in the country contributed to Tuesday’s deadly attack.
“The Myanmar Army’s attacks on innocent people, including today’s airstrike in S once moreg, are made possible by global indifference and those who supply them with weapons,” Andrews tweeted.
“How many Myanmar children have to die before world leaders take strong and coordinated action to stop this carnage?” the UN official added.
