At least 33 individuals lost their lives and 36 others sustained injuries following a Myanmar military airstrike on Monday near a market in Kyauktaw, a town in the conflict-ridden Rakhine state bordering Bangladesh. The Arakan Army, a rebel faction controlling the area, confirmed the casualties.
Local aid worker Wai Hun Aung, whose team is active in the region, corroborated the death toll. He emphasized that Kyauktaw, situated along the river in the northern part of Rakhine, is distant from active combat zones and unrelated to ongoing fighting.
Since the 2021 military coup, Myanmar has been engulfed in civil war, with various armed groups, including the Arakan Army, engaged in battles against the military across multiple fronts. Despite this, the government has maintained that the military exercises maximum caution to prevent civilian casualties.
In a significant development, this airstrike is considered one of the deadliest in Rakhine since a December attack on a hospital in the western part of the state, which resulted in at least 30 deaths. The incident highlights the escalating violence and humanitarian crisis in the region.
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