3 killed, 7 wounded by Burmese air strike in Kyaukme
Burmese military fighter
jets killed three villagers and injured seven others in a bombing mission in
Kyaukme Township, northern Shan State, the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) said
in statement released today.
According to SHRF, the
air strike took place in Pang Mark Mur village on December 26 last year. It
said that Burma’s Light
Infantry Battalion (LIB) 506 used jets to attack the village.
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| Photo by SHRF- Nang Khin Than Nu was injured by Burmese army air strike. |
“A bomb landed directly on the house of [villager]
Lung Jeak Da, killing three men instantly, including Lung Jeak Da, and injuring
two women, a 5-year-old boy, and another man. A cow was also killed,” read the
statement. “Three bombs landed around the village monastery, injuring four
monks sheltering under the temple building. Apart from the monastery,
altogether 16 houses in the village were damaged by the bombing.”
Monday’s report said that Burmese soldiers
buried the bodies of the deceased immediately upon entering the village.
“The troops did not let the villagers hold
a proper funeral ceremony,” said the statement. “The bodies were simply wrapped
in mats and buried.”
Sai Hor Hseng, the
spokesperson for SHRF, emphasised that human rights abuses, including killings
and the destruction of private property, continue to occur across Shan State,
particularly in the northern region.
“The government should
take responsibility for these people’s losses,” he said. “Since this incident, there
has been no report about support from the government. Only local charity groups
are helping the victims,” he said.
“Villagers are intimidated
and afraid as the Burmese army is still stationed in their village.”
Sai Hor Hseng noted that Yanghee Lee, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights, is currently on an
official visit to Burma, but that Shan State is not included on her itinerary.
He said that the Korean diplomat’s report
on the human rights situation in the country will not accurately portray the
abuses in Shan State.
Shan Herald has reported throughout the past
month that hostilities between government armed forces and ethnic armed groups
have compelled hundreds, if not thousands, of families to flee their homes.
Tags: Human Rights, News
