Myanmar’s junta-controlled Ministry of Foreign Affairs has dismissed ASEAN criticism of the bombardment of a Kachin State displacement camp earlier this month.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this week condemned the Mung Lai Hkyet village bombing that left 29 people dead on October 9.
The regime claimed an arsenal exploded at a nearby Kachin Independence Army (KIA) training center. The ministry said it urged ASEAN not to comment on the incident.
Thirteen children were killed and 57 people were wounded at the camp which is about 3km from the KIA’s headquarters in Laiza, according to the armed group.
ASEAN said on Tuesday that it was “deeply concerned” about the reported bombing.
It called for an end to violence, particularly against civilians, and for dialogue between all sides to establish a lasting peace.
The foreign ministry said it had given ASEAN information about the incident.
“Despite that communication on the factual information on that incident, the statement was issued in an unwarranted manner. Myanmar dissociates itself from the ASEAN statement, which is unfounded and misleading,” the ministry said, adding that ASEAN should “not interfere in other country’s domestic affairs”.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said it interviewed five witnesses and reviewed 20 images and three videos of the scene, which suggested the junta conducted an airstrike and then fired ground-launched mortars or artillery.
HRW said the first blast was probably caused by a large high-explosive bomb delivered by an aircraft while there was no evidence of resistance groups in the area.
“The military’s repeated strikes and shelling of a village filled with displaced people were either unlawfully deliberate or indiscriminate,” said Manny Maung, HRW’s researcher on Myanmar.
She said other governments should not just condemn the junta but take also concrete action to stop further violations.
Amnesty International reported last week that the attack was consistent with large aerially delivered bombs, which are in the junta’s arsenal. It said an unguided bomb was probably used, which was inappropriate where civilians were sheltering.
It said its weapons specialist had analyzed photos and videos, suggesting there had been a single, massive blast that had flattened numerous buildings, followed by another explosion.
KIA spokesman Colonel Naw Bu told The Irrawaddy last week that explosives would never be stored near civilians. He said KIA investigators had found bomb fragments which would be examined and suspected drones had been used in the attack.
Last October, a junta airstrike targeted an outdoor concert at A’Nang Pa village in Hpakant Township, Kachin State, killing at least 75 people.
