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NEW DELHI: An airstrike by Myanmar’s military near a market in rebel-controlled territory in western Rakhine state killed at least 49 people and injured 58 others on Monday, according to the Arakan army and a rescue official.The attack took place in Kyauktaw township, about 340 km (210 miles) west of Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city. The area is controlled by the Arakan Army, a powerful ethnic armed group operating in Rakhine.According to the Arakan Army, a fighter jet dropped two bombs near a local market around noon, killing vendors, shoppers and pedestrians. Of the 58 people injured, 22 were in critical condition, the group said.Wai Hun Aung, a senior rescue official in Rakhine, confirmed the casualties to The Associated Press, citing rescue workers at the scene. He said the market was the region’s main wholesale centre and attracted traders and shoppers from across the state.“This is one of the most severe airstrikes in Rakhine,” he said.Photos and videos shared on social media showed buildings on fire, damaged vehicles and parts of a nearby bridge destroyed. However TOI could not independently verify them.Arakan army threatens retaliationThe Arakan Army said the attack was the latest in a series of deadly airstrikes by Myanmar’s military against pro-democracy resistance forces and ethnic armed groups across the country.The group said it “will take effective retaliatory measures soon against the individuals and organisations directly responsible for the attacks involving deliberate airstrikes that have caused mass casualties.”The Myanmar military did not immediately comment on Monday’s attack. It has previously said its airstrikes target legitimate military positions and accused resistance groups of terrorism.Myanmar has been engulfed in conflict since the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, 2021.The military’s crackdown on widespread protests against the coup pushed many opponents to take up arms, triggering fighting across large parts of the country.The Arakan Army is the armed wing of a movement seeking greater autonomy for Rakhine’s ethnic minority from Myanmar’s central government. It launched an offensive in Rakhine in November 2023 and has since captured a strategically important regional military headquarters and 14 of the state’s 17 townships.Fighting in Rakhine has also disrupted trade routes and worsened food shortages as the military imposed severe restrictions on movement and commerce. In December, a military airstrike on a hospital in Rakhine’s Mrauk-U township killed at least 34 people and wounded 80 others.
