Narinjara News, 7 June 2024

Kachin National Organization (KNO) expressed profoundgrief over the brutal killing of civilians by the Myanmar military forces inByine Phyu village under  Sittwe township of  Arakan State. They alsourged the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) of the UnitedNations to conduct a thorough probe into the heinous war crimes committed bythe junta forces.

The KNO mentioned it in a statement, issued on 3 June,over the Byine Phyu village massacre.

"We are deeply saddened by the tragic incidentthat took place on 29 May 2024 in Byine Phyu village, where 53 innocentcivilians were brutally killed by the military junta. Our sincere condolencesgo to the bereaved families and Arakanese people,” stated the KNO.

It expressed steadfast solidarity with the Arakanesepeople in their quest for liberation from the oppressive grip of the junta. TheKNO also commended the courage and determination of the Arakha Army (AA)fighters, who are bravely fighting for the freedom of Arakan State collaborating with other resistance groups across Myanmar.

 "The Arakanese people deserve independencefrom decades long military dictatorship, where excessive oppressions areinflicted by the military junta," said Hkanhpa Tu Sadan, foreign secretaryof the KNO.

It urged the IIMM of the UN to conduct a thoroughinvestigation into the crimes and ensure that those responsible are heldaccountable for their actions.

Furthermore, it called upon the internationalcommunity to identify the Myanmar military as a terrorist organization. It alsourged for a decisive and unified response to the ongoing violence and unjustoppression perpetrated by the military junta in order to achieve justice andsustainable peace.

The KNO was founded in 1999 as a Kachin politicalorganization. On 4 June, the United League of Arakan stated that the Myanmarforces committed the brutal crime at Set Yoe Kya ward (Byine Phyu village) andas of 2 June, the number of civilians killed increased to 76.