Fifty people were killed and 58 others injured in a strike carried out by the Myanmar military on Monday against a market in Kyauktaw township, Rakhine State, also known as Arakan, in the west of the country, according to figures provided by two local aid workers. The area targeted by the strike is in a state inhabited by the Muslim Rohingya minority.
Conflicting tolls reported for strike
The group said in a statement that those killed were “innocent passers-by, market vendors, shoppers and goods loaders”. Witnesses said the strike hit the market and the bridge next to it in Kyauktaw at midday on Monday. Agence France-Presse was unable to obtain comment from the Myanmar military about the incident.
Market becomes commercial hub in Rakhine
The targeted market and bridge have become vital centres of commercial activity since Myanmar’s civil war began following the 2021 military coup. Although Rakhine is one of the states worst affected by the conflict, the market has seen increased activity because of the river trade route linking the region with India.
The Arakan Army controls most of Rakhine State, while the Myanmar military continues to defend some of the remaining areas, using a fleet of Russian- and Chinese-made fighter aircraft. Rights groups accuse Myanmar’s air force of committing atrocities against civilians through attacks targeting schools, monasteries and religious gatherings.
The groups say some of those attacks may amount to war crimes. United Nations data indicates that about half a million people are internally displaced in Rakhine State because of the conflict. Data from the US-based Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project, which monitors conflicts worldwide, also says that more than 100,000 people have been killed in Myanmar since the 2021 military coup.
