The chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) said yesterday the bloc "strongly condemns" Tuesday's military airstrike on a village in Myanmar, reportedly killing up to 100 people, including civilians.
The attack in the Sagaing area was the deadliest in a recent string of military air attacks, with children reported to be among the dead, and has drawn global condemnation.
Myanmar has been in chaos since a military coup in early 2021 that upended a decade of tentative democratic reform, with a bloody crackdown on protests giving rise to an armed struggle against the junta.
"All forms of violence must end immediately, particularly the use of force against civilians," Asean chair Indonesia said in a statement.
"This would be the only way to create a conducive environment for an inclusive national dialogue to find a sustainable peaceful solution in Myanmar," the statement said.
Asean agreed on a peace plan with the junta in 2021 but members have been frustrated by the military's failure to halt offensives and open dialogue with the resistance movement backed by ethnic minority armies and the shadow National Unity Government (NUG), which the junta has declared a "terrorist" movement.
A Myanmar junta spokesperson said Tuesday's attack targeted a ceremony held by the NUG for their armed People's Defence Force, adding the attack aimed to restore peace and stability in the region.
Meanwhile, Maj Gen Sirichan Ngathong, the Thai army's deputy spokeswoman, said the remaining 89 Myanmar refugees on Wednesday voluntarily returned to their home country after clashes between ethnic groups and the Myanmar military had eased.