Khalid Umar Malik
26 Sep 2022, 10:51 GMT+10
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Southeast Asian nations must decide whether a five-point plan to end the violence in Myanmar is "still relevant," according to Malaysia's Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, following reports that at least 11 children were killed in a military airstrike on a school.
Myanmar was thrown into turmoil when the military detained and seized power from elected civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. It has repressed any opposition, branding civilian and ethnic armed groups opposing its rule as "terrorists" and executing four political prisoners in July.
In April 2021, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) brokered a five-point framework with army chief Min Aung Hlaing to end the violence, but the generals ignored it.
Saifuddin stated that ASEAN leaders, who will meet in less than two months, needed to "seriously review" whether the plan was "still relevant" or if "it should be replaced with something better."
Myanmar is one of ASEAN's ten members, and the international community has looked to the organization to lead diplomatic efforts to address the crisis.
"By the time we meet in November, we must ask that difficult question and receive an answer," he said.
The UN Children's Fund said in a statement on Friday that at least 11 children were killed in "an airstrike and indiscriminate fire in civilian areas, including a school" in the northern central Sagaing region and that at least 15 children from the school were still missing.
According to Save the Children, 17 others were injured.
Get a daily dose of Vietnam Tribune news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Vietnam Tribune.
More InformationJAKARTA, Indonesia: The death toll from the eruption of Indonesia's Marapi volcano surged to 22 as rescuers discovered additional climbers ...
DHAKA, Bangladesh - PM Sheikh Hasina is ranked 46th on Forbes' list of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women in ...
LAHORE, Pakistan - According to the Lahore police Organized Crime Unit (OCU), a gang of robbers has been arrested in ...
BUKITTINGGI, Indonesia: On December 2, Mount Marapi in West Sumatra province, Indonesia, erupted, sending hot ash clouds several miles (kilometers) ...
NAYPYITAW, Myanmar - Myanmar's junta chief has urged ethnic armed groups fighting the military across the country to find a ...
DHAKA, Bangladesh - Bangladesh's father of cardiology, Professor Brigadier (retd) Abdul Malik, who established the first cardiac unit in Bangladesh ...
VANDENBERG, California: South Korea successfully launched its inaugural military spy satellite, following North Korea's recent claim of deploying its own ...
JAKARTA, Indonesia: The death toll from the eruption of Indonesia's Marapi volcano surged to 22 as rescuers discovered additional climbers ...
In September, Tamir Pardo, who headed the Mossad, Israel's national intelligence agency, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from 2011 to ...
HONOLULU, Hawaii: U.S. Navy officials say that it would cost some $1.5 million to salvage a P-8A jet plane that ...
NEW YORK, New York - In a rare move, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has taken a dramatic constitutional step ...
BUKITTINGGI, Indonesia: On December 2, Mount Marapi in West Sumatra province, Indonesia, erupted, sending hot ash clouds several miles (kilometers) ...