Myanmar’s military airstrike kills at least 33 in Rakhine state

A military airstrike in Mrauk U, western Rakhine state, killed over 30 people on Monday, according to the Arakan Army, a rebel group fighting Myanmar's military. The Arakan Army and a local aid worker, Wai Hun Aung, reported that at least 33 people died and 36 were injured in the airstrike in the town of Kyauktaw. This area is far from the conflict zones and not involved in the civil war triggered by a 2021 coup.

The government has stated that the military exercises maximum restraint to avoid civilian harm, but the airstrike was among the deadliest of its kind in Rakhine since last December when a similar attack on a hospital killed at least 30 people. Repeated attempts to independently verify the incident by Reuters were unsuccessful.