33 killed, 36 injured after Myanmar military airstrike in war-torn Rakhine
A military airstrike near a market in Myanmar's war-torn Rakhine state killed at least 33 people and left 36 others injured, according to the Arakan Army and a local aid worker cited by Reuters.
The strike took place on Monday in Kyauktaw, a riverside town in northern Rakhine that is controlled by the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group fighting Myanmar's military. The area is near the border with Bangladesh.
The casualty figures were given by the Arakan Army and independently confirmed by aid worker Wai Hun Aung, whose team operates in the area.AIRSTRIKE HITS AREA AWAY FROM FRONTLINE
Wai Hun Aung said the location struck was far from the active fighting and had no direct connection to the conflict.
"This location is quite far from the fighting and has nothing to do with the conflict," he said, as quoted by Reuters.
The attack is among the deadliest airstrikes reported in Rakhine in recent months. The Arakan Army and Wai Hun Aung said it ranks alongside a December airstrike on a hospital in western Rakhine that killed at least 30 people.MYANMAR'S CIVIL WAR RAGES ON
Myanmar has been engulfed in a civil war since the military seized power in a 2021 coup, triggering widespread armed resistance. Ethnic armed organisations and other resistance groups have since fought the military across several regions.
The Arakan Army has made significant territorial gains in Rakhine and has been battling the military for control of key routes and towns.
The latest violence comes amid intensified military operations elsewhere in the country.
According to The Irrawaddy, the military had deployed a 300-member column from the 33rd Light Infantry Division in an effort to regain control of a key route. The operation has been backed by airstrikes.
On September 23, military aircraft reportedly dropped around 20 bombs on two villages in Indaw, killing at least five civilians and injuring eight others.
The villages had become local trade hubs after fighting and road blockages disrupted the main routes between Sagaing and Kachin. Resistance groups have been using alternative routes, or detours, to keep supplies and cargo moving.- EndsWith inputs from agencies
