Let Yet Kone massacre explained

Let Yet Kone massacre
Location:Let Yet Kone, Sagaing Region
Date:16 September 2022
Partof:the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état and Myanmar civil war (2021–present)
Fatalities:at least 13 (including 8 children)
Charges:None

The Let Yet Kone massacre was a mass killing of civilians on 16 September 2022, at a monastic school in the village of Let Yet Kone, near Tabayin in Sagaing Region, in north-western Myanmar. During the massacre, Myanmar Army and Myanmar Air Force troops killed at least 13 civilians, including 8 children.[1] The event became one of Myanmar's deadliest civilian massacres involving children in 2022, during which 165 children were killed by military forces.[2] [3]

Background

On 1 February 2021, the Myanmar Armed Forces staged a coup d'état and deposed the democratically elected government led by the National League for Democracy. Shortly thereafter, the military established a junta, the State Administration Council (SAC), and declared a national state of emergency. In response, civilians throughout the country staged large-scale protests to resist the military takeover.

By May 2021, the resistance had escalated into a civil war against the SAC, which was unwilling to compromise. Let Yet Kone (also spelt Letyetkon) is situated in the traditional Bamar Buddhist heartland, which quickly emerged as a stronghold of resistance against military rule. Given the fierce resistance, by November 2021, the Burmese military had begun launching airstrikes in Sagaing to regain control, forcing thousands of villagers to flee.[4] Sagaing Region was previously the site of several other recent massacres, including the Mon Taing Pin massacre in May 2022, which killed 37 villagers.[5]

Incident

On the afternoon of 16 September 2022, class was in session at a monastic school near Maha Dhammayanthi Monastery in Let Yet Kone.[6] The school teaches 250 students from kindergarten to the eighth grade, and serves Let Yet Kone and nearby villages.[7]

Around 1 pm, two Russian-made Mi-35 helicopters launched an airstrike at the school, while Mi-17 helicopters led a ground attack. The helicopters shelled the school grounds for 45 minutes, firing rockets and machine guns as students scattered to hide, before ground forces launched an infantry attack.[8] Several bodies were torn apart by the crossfire, while others died from excessive bleeding. Ground troops then entered the campus, to gather the students and schoolteachers. Throughout the afternoon, troops removed evidence of the attack, including victims' corpses. Troops also detained two teachers and 20 students, all seriously injured, along with 6 villagers as hostage. Russian-made S-5 rockets were later found at the massacre site.[9]

Perpetrators

The attack was carried out by Myanmar Air Force and Myanmar Army troops, including members of the 368th Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) under the command of the 10th Military Operations Command (MOC-10), which reports to Brigadier-General Thant Zin Oo.[10] Both armed forces branches are under the command of Min Aung Hlaing, who also heads the military junta, the State Administration Council.

Victims

At the time of their deaths, the 12 known victims ranged from the ages of 7 to 49, including 6 schoolchildren. One victim remained unidentified.

  1. Phone Tayza – aged 7[11]
  2. Su Yati Hlaing – aged 7
  3. Zin Nwe Phyo – aged 9[12]
  4. Win Win Khaing – aged 11
  5. Saw Min Oo – aged 13
  6. Pho Thar (aka Zin Ko Oo) – aged 14
  7. Aung Aung Oo – aged 16
  8. Aung Chit Moe – aged 22
  9. Tin Soe Khaing – aged 31
  10. Aung Saw Htwe – aged 34
  11. Yu – aged 37
  12. Kyaw Htun – aged 49

Aftermath

In the immediate aftermath of the attack, 50,000 nearby villagers living on the western bank of the Mu River fled their homes.[13] Army troops had secretly cremated victims' corpses at Ye-U cemetery, which is located from the village.[14] Villagers later uncovered the abandoned corpses of several victims, including that of a 13-year-old boy. The junta forced two surviving schoolchildren to read scripted testimonies claiming that the village was occupied by People's Defence Force troops, as a condition of their release from military custody.[15]

The Burmese military has escalated its campaign against locals in the Bamar heartland, for supporting the anti-coup resistance movement.[16] On 30 November, it began a new campaign, committing arson and raiding over 2,000 homes in 19 villages in Depayin Township, where Let Yet Kone is located. During the campaign, 200 homes in Let Yet Kone were torched by army troops. Between the February 2021 coup and January 2023, military forces had burned down over 5,000 houses throughout the township.[17]

Reactions

Domestic

On 20 September, Myanmar's military regime denied carrying out the aerial strike.[18] State-run New Light of Myanmar claimed that security forces had inspected the village, after receiving a tip that resistance forces had been hiding there. The military junta's spokesperson, Zaw Min Tun, later claimed the attack was intended to target Kachin Independence Army and People's Defence Force soldiers, and alleged that resistance forces had used the schoolchildren as 'human shields.'[19]

The opposition National Unity Government of Myanmar (NUG) issued a statement strongly condemning the targeted attack, calling the massacre a war crime. The NUG has called for a total ban on the sale of jet fuel to Myanmar. In November 2021, an Amnesty International investigation found that Myanmar's armed forces have diverted civilian jet fuel to the Air Force for military use.[20] [21]

International

The massacre was not picked up by international organisations until the following week. On 19 September, UNICEF condemned the incident, and the following day Save the Children followed suit.[22] On 20 September, the spokesperson of António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, condemned the attack.[23] On 27 September, the UN's Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar announced it was gathering evidence to assess criminal responsibility. Under international law, armed attacks that target civilians are considered war crimes or crimes against humanity. Guterres reiterated that attacks on schools violate humanitarian law, and constitute one of six grave violations against children.[24]

In February 2023, the Canadian and British governments imposed new measures on the supply and sale of aviation fuel to Myanmar.[25]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Peck . Grant . 2022-09-19 . Witnesses: Myanmar air attack kills 13, including 7 children . 2023-03-02 . AP NEWS . en. https://web.archive.org/web/20230302072751/https://apnews.com/article/police-myanmar-aung-san-suu-kyi-government-and-politics-892bebcaf1d9966d4a28393e890ed371. March 2, 2023.
  2. Web site: 2022-12-27 . Myanmar Junta's Worst Massacres of 2022 . 2023-03-02 . The Irrawaddy . en-US. https://web.archive.org/web/20221227021906/https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-juntas-worst-massacres-of-2022.html. December 27, 2022.
  3. News: Root . Rebecca . 2022-12-29 . Myanmar's junta blamed for deaths of more than 160 children in 2022 . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-03-02 . 0261-3077. https://web.archive.org/web/20230605121510/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/29/myanmars-junta-blamed-for-deaths-of-more-than-160-children-in-2022. June 5, 2023.
  4. Web site: Maung Shwe Wah . 2021-11-30 . Depayin PDF fights junta soldiers who arrived by helicopter to terrorise villages . 2023-03-02 . Myanmar NOW . en. https://web.archive.org/web/20230302073050/https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/depayin-pdf-fights-junta-soldiers-who-arrived-by-helicopter-to-terrorise-villages. March 2, 2023.
  5. Web site: 2022-12-01 . Killing Spree . 2023-03-14 . Myanmar Witness . en. https://web.archive.org/web/20230531185416/https://www.myanmarwitness.org/reports/killing-spree. May 31, 2023.
  6. Web site: 2022-11-23 . The Tabayin School Attack . 2023-03-02 . Myanmar Witness . en. https://web.archive.org/web/20230602013547/https://www.myanmarwitness.org/reports/the-tabayin-school-attack. June 2, 2023.
  7. Web site: 2022-09-21 . When the deafening roar of airstrikes drowns out the sound of school bells . 2023-03-02 . Myanmar NOW . en. https://web.archive.org/web/20230629103840/https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/when-the-deafening-roar-of-airstrikes-drowns-out-the-sound-of-school-bells/. June 29, 2023.
  8. Web site: 2022-09-21 . Myanmar School Massacre: 'The Lives of Our Children Have Been Sacrificed' (Published Sept. 2022) . 2023-03-02 . The Irrawaddy . en-US. https://web.archive.org/web/20230330144248/https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-school-massacre-the-lives-of-our-children-have-been-sacrificed.html. March 30, 2023.
  9. Web site: 2022-12-01 . Rights Group Alleges Russia Supplied Weapons Used in Airstrike on Myanmar School . 2023-03-02 . VOA . en. https://web.archive.org/web/20230302072753/https://www.voanews.com/a/rights-group-alleges-russia-supplied-weapons-used-in-airstrike-on-myanmar-school/6858693.html. March 2, 2023.
  10. Web site: 2022-09-26 . လက်ယက်ကုန်း ပစ်ခတ်မှုကို ခမရ ၃၆၈ တပ်ရင်း ကျူးလွန်ဟု NUG ဆို . 2023-03-02 . ဧရာဝတီ . my. https://web.archive.org/web/20230301232818/https://burma.irrawaddy.com/news/crime/2022/09/26/254838.html. March 1, 2023.
  11. News: Wee . Sui-Lee . 2022-09-23 . In Myanmar, Grief and Fury After an Attack on a School . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-03-02 . 0362-4331. https://web.archive.org/web/20230501061048/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/23/world/asia/myanmar-children-school.html. May 1, 2023.
  12. News: 2023-01-31 . Myanmar: Air strikes have become a deadly new tactic in the civil war . en-GB . BBC News . 2023-03-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20230531094936/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-64397397. May 31, 2023.
  13. Web site: Khin Yi Yi Zaw . 2022-09-19 . School-hour airstrikes leave six children dead in Depayin . 2023-03-02 . Myanmar NOW . en. https://web.archive.org/web/20230302072754/https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/school-hour-airstrikes-leave-six-children-dead-in-depayin. March 2, 2023.
  14. Web site: 2022-09-20 . Editorial The World Must Act to Stop More Myanmar Children From Being Killed . https://web.archive.org/web/20230608054910/https://www.irrawaddy.com/opinion/editorial/the-world-must-act-to-stop-more-myanmar-children-from-being-killed.html. June 8, 2023 . 2023-03-02 . The Irrawaddy . en-US.
  15. Web site: 2022-10-28 . Child survivors of Letyetkone massacre forced to read scripted 'testimonies' . 2023-03-02 . Myanmar NOW . en. https://web.archive.org/web/20230302072825/https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/child-survivors-of-letyetkone-massacre-forced-to-read-scripted-testimonies. March 2, 2023.
  16. Web site: Thura Maung . 2022-12-13 . More communities in Myanmar's heartland persecuted for supporting resistance . 2023-03-02 . Myanmar NOW . en. https://web.archive.org/web/20230418003555/https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/more-communities-in-myanmars-heartland-persecuted-for-supporting-resistance/. April 18, 2023.
  17. Web site: Thura Maung . 2023-01-26 . More villages torched in Depayin as junta soldiers lash out after ambush . 2023-03-02 . Myanmar NOW . en. https://web.archive.org/web/20230601015130/https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/more-villages-torched-in-depayin-as-junta-soldiers-lash-out-after-ambush/. June 1, 2023.
  18. Web site: 2022-09-20 . Myanmar's military gov't denies deadly air attack on school . 2023-03-02 . AP NEWS . en. https://web.archive.org/web/20230302072753/https://apnews.com/article/shootings-myanmar-government-and-politics-0cb32afccb95f5bec99a9000a64bad88. March 2, 2023.
  19. Web site: 2022-09-27 . School attack in Let Yet Kone village may be considered a war crime with commanders criminally liable – . 2023-03-02 . Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar . en-US. https://web.archive.org/web/20230626184520/https://iimm.un.org/school-attack-in-let-yet-kone-village-may-be-considered-a-war-crime-with-commanders-criminally-liable-independent-investigative-mechanism-for-myanmar/. June 26, 2023.
  20. Web site: Rasheed . Zaheena . 2023-02-03 . Why Myanmar's opposition wants a ban on jet fuel . 2023-03-02 . Al Jazeera . en. https://web.archive.org/web/20230513075950/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/3/why-myanmars-opposition-is-calling-for-a-ban-on-jet-fuel. May 13, 2023.
  21. Web site: 2022-11-04 . Myanmar military diverts civilian jet fuel to air force: Amnesty . 2023-03-02 . Al Jazeera . en. https://web.archive.org/web/20230526213140/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/4/myanmar-military-diverts-civilian-jet-fuel-to-air-force-amnesty. May 26, 2023.
  22. News: 2022-09-21 . Myanmar junta attack on school condemned as child death toll rises to 11 . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-03-02 . 0261-3077. https://web.archive.org/web/20230319114002/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/21/myanmar-junta-attack-on-school-condemned-as-child-death-toll-rises-to-11. March 19, 2023.
  23. Web site: 2022-09-20 . Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General – on Myanmar . 2023-03-02 . United Nations Secretary-General. https://web.archive.org/web/20220921042402/https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2022-09-20/statement-attributable-the-spokesperson-for-the-secretary-general-myanmar. September 21, 2022.
  24. Web site: 2022-09-20 . Myanmar: Guterres strongly condemns army attacks which left 11 children dead . 2023-03-02 . UN News . en. https://web.archive.org/web/20230508101513/http://news.un.org/en/story/2022/09/1127201. May 8, 2023.
  25. Web site: 2023-02-01 . New Myanmar sanctions imposed as anti-coup activists plan action . 2023-03-02 . Al Jazeera . en. https://web.archive.org/web/20230413051428/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/1/us-and-allies-hit-myanmar-with-sanctions-resistance-plans-strike. April 13, 2023.

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