Sept 29 (Reuters) – The death toll from a Myanmar military airstrike in Rakhine state, which lies on the border with Bangladesh, rose to 50 after rescuers found more bodies on Tuesday, according to a rebel group that controls the area and a local aid worker.
• Monday’s airstrike in Rakhine state’s Kyauktaw town killed 50 people and wounded at least 58, said the Arakan Army, which is battling the military. The numbers were confirmed by aid worker Wai Hun Aung.
• Women and children were among the bodies recovered on Tuesday, according to photos shared on social media by Wai Hun Aung.
• Arakan Army spokesperson Khine Thu Kha said the military “deliberately targeted densely populated markets, schools, civilians, and residential buildings through airstrikes.”
• A Myanmar government spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. The military has previously said it “exercises maximum restraint to avoid civilian harm”.
• Myanmar has been locked in a nationwide civil war since a 2021 coup, with an alliance of armed groups, including the Arakan Army, fighting against the military.
• The protracted conflict has since killed around 100,000 people and displaced over 3.5 million in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation.
• Khine Thu Kha said the Arakan Army would use all available means to retaliate against the military and anyone involved in the bombing of civilians.
• The Kyauktaw air strike is Rakhine’s deadliest such attack since a December hospital bombing that killed at least 30 people.
(Reporting by Reuters staff, Editing by Devjyot Ghoshal)
