Laiza massacre | |
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Part of Myanmar civil war (2021–present) | |
Laiza (Myanmar) | |
Location | Laiza, Kachin State, Myanmar 24°45′14″N 97°21′18″E / 24.7540°N 97.35505°E / 24.7540; 97.35505 |
Date | October 9, 2023 11:30 pm MST |
Target | ![]() ![]() |
Deaths | 29+ civilians killed |
Injured | 57 injured |
Perpetrator | ![]() |
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Prelude Theater Early violence and clashes
2021–22 dry season campaign
2022 monsoon season campaign 2022–23 dry season campaign
2023 monsoon season campaign 2023–24 dry season campaign |
On October 9, 2023, the Myanmar military launched an artillery attack targeting an internally-displaced persons (IDP) camp near Laiza, a town in northern Myanmar that serves as the capital of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). In the massacre,[1][2] over 29 civilians were killed and 57 were injured.[3] The incident occurred before the anniversary of the Myanmar Air Force's airstrike in Hpakant that killed at least 80 civilians and other KIO officials and soldiers on 23 October 2022.[4]
The Myanmar civil war broke out in 2021 following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, in which the Tatmadaw deposed the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. Minority rebel groups across the country, which had all been fighting low-level insurgencies against the government since Burmese independence in 1948, rebelled along with anti-junta civilian groups. One of the groups that rebelled was the Kachin Independence ArmyofKachin State, which controlled the state capital of Laiza.[5] 400 people lived in Mung Lai Hkyet prior to the attack.[5]
The airstrike occurred at the Mung Lai Hkyet refugee camp in northern Laiza, at around 11:30 pm local time.[5][6] Colonel Naw Bu, a spokesman for the KIA, stated that it is unknown how the attack was carried out, as the sound of a jet was not heard overhead prior to the attack.[5] Bu stated that in the attack, 29 people were killed, including 11 children under 16, along with 57 others injured.[5] Kachin Human Rights Watch gave a different toll, of 19 adults killed and 13 children killed.[5] The camp, which had around 100 households at the time of the attack, was "effectively destroyed."[7] Bu also stated that the search for missing individuals was continuing.[8][3]
Similar international events:
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