The death toll from a Myanmar military airstrike on a crowded riverside market in western Rakhine state has risen to 50 as local aid workers and ethnic rebel forces confirmed on Tuesday.
The attack occurred on Monday around midday in Kyauktaw town, a vital commercial center near the Bangladesh border. The bombing struck market vendors, shoppers and cargo loaders, leaving at least 58 others injured. Rescuers and grieving families searched through charred debris for missing relatives also warning that the final fatality count could increase as more remains are recovered.
The Arakan Army (AA) an ethnic armed group that controls most of Rakhine state accused the military of deliberately targeting civilians, warning of swift retaliation. Myanmar's ruling junta did not comment on the incident though it has previously claimed to avoid civilian harm during counter-insurgency operations.
According to conflict monitor ACLED, mass-casualty airstrikes of this scale remain rare but highlight the military's increasing reliance on Russian and Chinese-made fighter jets to launch offensives in areas lost to rebel forces.
Rakhine state is severely isolated since the 2021 military coup remains one of the worst-hit regions in the nationwide conflict. The ongoing civil war has killed an estimated 100,000 people and displaced over 3.5 million nationwide also creating a major humanitarian crisis along South Asia's borders.
