The Karen National Union claims that midst the country’s situation, the military regime is continuing its airstrikes on villages. The Karen National Union is the country’s oldest ethnic army.
In a The Nation article, the group said that under normal situations, the military would be prioritising relief operations but has instead focused on “deploying forces to attack its people”.
A spokesperson for the junta didn’t address the issue from Reuters about the criticism.
Since 2021, Myanmar has been locked in civil war with multiple armed oppositions when the country was seized in a coup after Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested.
Accordingly after Friday’s destructive quake, military jets launched more airstrikes and drone attacks in the Karen state near the KNU headquarters, as reported by the Free Burma Rangers, a relief organization.
Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan called for “an immediate ceasefire to help aid distribution”, following a virtual meeting with ASEAN counterparts.
In the same report, Myanmar has already reported around 1,700 people dead in the earthquake.