A Myanmar military airstrike near a market in western Rakhine state, home to the country’s persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority, killed at least 33 people and wounded 36 others Monday, according to the Arakan Army and a local aid worker.
The attack in western Rakhine state was the latest in a series of deadly airstrikes against pro-democracy resistance forces and ethnic armed groups across the country.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, 2021, triggering widespread opposition. After security forces suppressed peaceful protests with lethal force, many opponents of military rule took up arms, plunging large parts of the country into conflict.
Monday’s attack occurred in Kyauktaw township, about 340 kilometers (210 miles) west of Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city, according to the Arakan Army, a powerful ethnic armed group based in Rakhine that controls Kyauktaw. It said a fighter jet dropped two bombs near a local market around noon, killing 33 people, including vendors, shoppers and pedestrians.
The group said 36 other people were injured and warned that the death toll could rise.
Wai Hun Aung, a senior rescue official in Rakhine, confirmed the casualties to The Associated Press, citing rescue workers at the scene. He said the market was the region’s main wholesale center, drawing traders and shoppers from across the state.
"This is one of the most severe airstrikes in Rakhine,” he said.
Photos and videos posted on social media showed buildings on fire, damaged vehicles and parts of a nearby bridge destroyed.
The military did not immediately comment on the attack. It has previously said it strikes only legitimate military targets and has accused resistance groups of terrorism.
The Arakan Army is the well-trained and well-armed military wing of a movement seeking autonomy for Rakhine’s ethnic minority from Myanmar’s central government. It launched an offensive in Rakhine in November 2023 and has since captured a strategically important regional military headquarters and 14 of the state’s 17 townships.
The military has imposed severe restrictions on trade routes since fighting intensified in Rakhine, worsening food shortages.
In December, a military airstrike on a hospital in Rakhine’s Mrauk-U township killed at least 34 people and wounded 80 others.
