Myanmar army airstrike kills 49 in market in rebel-held Rakhine state

A Myanmar military fighter jet dropped two bombs near a market in Kyauktaw township on Monday, about 340 kilometres west of Mandalay, the country's second-largest city. The strike killed at least 49 people, including vendors, shoppers and pedestrians, and wounded 58 others, 22 of them critically.

The information came from the Arakan Army, the powerful ethnic armed group that controls Kyauktaw, and was confirmed by Wai Hun Aung, a senior rescue official in Rakhine, who cited rescue workers at the scene. He said the market served as the region's main wholesale hub, drawing traders and shoppers from across the state, and described the attack as one of the most severe airstrikes Rakhine has seen.

Social media photos and videos showed burning buildings, damaged vehicles and a partially destroyed nearby bridge. Details of the attack could not be independently verified. The military has not commented on the strike, though it has previously maintained it targets only legitimate military objectives while accusing resistance groups of terrorism.

The Arakan Army said it would soon take "effective retaliatory measures" against those responsible for deliberate airstrikes causing mass casualties.

Background to the conflict

Myanmar has been in turmoil since 1 February 2021, when the military seized power from Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government. After security forces used lethal force against peaceful protesters, many opponents of military rule took up arms, plunging large parts of the country into conflict.

The Arakan Army is the military wing of a movement seeking autonomy for Rakhine's ethnic minority from Myanmar's central government. Since launching an offensive in November 2023, it has captured a strategically important regional military headquarters and 14 of the state's 17 townships. The military has imposed severe trade restrictions 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.