An airstrike by Myanmar's ruling military has killed up to 80 people at a music festival in the country's mountainous northern state of Kachin, local media and international organizations said, drawing widespread condemnation.
Three fighter jets bombed the festival on Sunday, independent news outlet Myanmar Now reported Monday, killing at least four well-known Kachin performers, as well as civilians and officers of the Kachin Independence Army, an ethnic rebel group that controls the area and has clashed with the Myanmar military for decades.
The festival was held to celebrate the 62nd anniversary of the group's political wing, the Kachin Independence Organization.
Some 80 people were killed and 100 injured by the aerial attack in Hpakant Township, according to Kachin News Group, which also reported that government security forces were blocking wounded people from leaving the area to receive medical treatment.
