As fighting surges in Myanmar, an airstrike in the west reportedly kills 11 civilians
Associated PressBANGKOK — Airstrikes by Myanmar’s military on a village in a western region have killed at least 11 civilians, including eight children, a leading opposition group and residents of the area said Friday. Ngai Tam Maung, a deputy minister of the humanitarian affairs and disaster management in the National Unity Government, which leads the opposition to army rule and serves as a parallel government, told The Associated Press on Friday that two military jets dropped bombs on buildings in Vuilu, an isolated village in a mountainous area on the southern part of Chin state, at around 6:40 p.m. on Wednesday. A statement issued Friday in Geneva by the office of U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said his agency was “closely monitoring developments in Myanmar where anti-military armed groups and their allies have made significant advances and several hundred soldiers have reportedly chosen to lay down their weapons.” The statement said it was “essential that all those captured are treated humanely,” with reprisals absolutely forbidden. “We are concerned, given past patterns, that as the military loses ground on multiple fronts, its response risks unleashing an even greater force, through indiscriminate and disproportionate air strikes and artillery barrages,” said the statement.