Airstrikes by Burmese military kill dozens at anti-junta event

The national unity government (NUG), which was set up to oppose the junta, said at least 53 people were confirmed dead, 40 were injured and the death toll was expected to rise.

Some local news outlets said residents feared the death toll could be as high as 100.

On social media, many turned their profile pictures black in tribute to those killed.

The airstrikes happened at about 8am local time on Tuesday morning, according to the NUG. The Kyunhla activist group, which is volunteering to help the injured, said the military launched another attack later in the day, at 5.35 pm, striking the same area three times.

The military, which seized power in a coup in February 2021, provoking widespread opposition among the public, has increasingly launched airstrikes in an attempt to crush a determined armed resistance movement. Strikes have hit schools, medical facilities, religious sites, civilian homes and infrastructure, according to Myanmar Witness, a group of open-source researchers that monitors atrocities.

He asked neighbouring countries to provide humanitarian assistance to Sagaing and other regions engulfed in conflict.

Before the coup, the Sagaing region, home to the Buddhist-Bamar majority, had been spared the level of military violence and oppression that has long been inflicted on minorities in border regions. It is now one of the frontlines in the battle against the junta, and has been heavily targeted by airstrikes and the burning of villages.

The number of people in need of humanitarian assistance has soared since the coup, from 1 million to 17.6 million, according to the UN. Almost 1.8 million people are displaced across Myanmar.

Last weekend, opposition groups set off several bombs at pavilions built by the military for Thingyan in the cities of Yangon, Mandalay and Mawlamyine, according to a report by Radio Free Asia. Groups have warned of further attacks.