A government airstrike on a separatist music festival may have killed as many as 60 people in Myanmar. Sky News. Singers and musicians were killed at the festival, which was put on by the Kachin ethnic group. The Kachin Independence organization has clashed with the government of Myanmar for decades. Between 300 and 500 people were at the event and reports say that in addition to performers, officers, soldiers, and business leaders were killed as well. If the death toll is confirmed it would be the most casualties caused by an airstrike in the conflict between the Kachin and the government.
Aftermath of a bombing raid by the Myanmar Air Force against a concert being held by the Kachin Independence Organization near the village of Kansi. Among at least 50 believed killed were 4 popular Kachin singers including Galau Yaw Lwi and Aurali. pic.twitter.com/AtA60hF2ke
— Jonathan Head (@pakhead) October 24, 2022
My Comment:
I am far from an expert on the conflict in Myanmar, but this attack was large enough that I thought I should cover it. It's not every day that a government bombs a music festival, of all things. And it seems like it was a very deadly attack, with reports of 60 people dying.
This did not appear to be a legitimate military target. There were military members of the KIO in attendance but given the large numbers of civilians and non-combatants, including children, you can't argue that this was a legitimate target. Indeed, I think this pretty obviously counts as a war crime. Sending in two jets to attack a music festival is not something good people do.
I do wonder why the KIO decided to put this festival on. I guess they didn't think that the government of Myanmar would attack like they did. That seems fairly naïve on their part given how many atrocities the government is accused of and how vulnerable a target a music festival would be. Still, I can't really blame them for not thinking that the government would attack them, this kind of thing is fairly unprecedented.
I don't expect much to happen to the government for this attack. Myanmar is already somewhat of a pariah state as it is so there is not much more that can happen there. I don't think anyone wants to get involved with their war so I guess if anything happens it will be sanctions. I also think that the government there is more than aware that they are barely on the radar these days, even foreign policy wonks aren't focused on them while the war in Ukraine rages. Even Yemen, the Middle East's forgotten war, gets more attention than Myanmar does.
Strangely enough, this incident might affect me directly. We actually have quite a few Burmese people at work, most of them came into the country as refugees. With this attack more folks could be trying to enter the country. I actually think that they have a case for refugee status given how badly Myanmar is acting these days and I don't oppose them coming here for work. They have a stronger claim of oppression than many of the people let in based on refugee status.
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