At least 33 people killed in western Myanmar airstrike, rebel group and aid worker say

Dozens of people were killed in a Myanmar military airstrike on Monday near a market in the country’s war-torn Rakhine state, which borders Bangladesh, according to a rebel group that controls the area and a local aid worker.

At least 33 people have died and 36 others injured in the airstrike in the town of Kyauktaw in Rakhine state, according to the Arakan Army, a rebel group fighting the military.

The number of victims was confirmed by aid worker Wai Hun Aung, who has a team operating in the area.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since a 2021 coup triggered a civil war, with a collection of armed groups – including the Arakan Army — fighting the military across multiple frontlines.

“This location is quite far from the fighting and has nothing to do with the conflict,” said Wai Hun Aung, referring to Kyauktaw, a riverside town located in the north of the state.

The government has previously said the military “exercises maximum restraint to avoid civilian harm”.

The Arakan Army and Wai Hun Aung said the airstrike at Kyauktaw was among the deadliest such incidents in Rakhine since an aerial attack at a hospital in the west of the state last December that killed at least 30 people.