Myanmar Military Airstrike On Rakhine Market Kills 50, Injures 58

The Myanmar military carried out an airstrike near a busy market in western Rakhine state on Monday, killing at least 50 people and injuring 58 others. The attack took place around noon in Kyauktaw township, about 340 kilometres (210 miles) west of Mandalay, in territory controlled by the Arakan Army. The group said a fighter jet dropped two bombs near the market, killing vendors, shoppers, pedestrians and other civilians.

The market, located near the Kissapanadi Bridge, is the region’s main wholesale centre and attracts traders and shoppers from across Rakhine. The strike also damaged vehicles, buildings and part of the nearby bridge, while fires broke out in the area.

The initial death toll was 33, with 36 injured, but the number of casualties increased as rescue workers searched the scene. The Arakan Army later put the toll at 49 dead and 58 injured, including 22 critically wounded, before the death toll rose to 50 on Tuesday.

Local aid workers said women and children were among those killed. Some bodies were badly burned or lost in fires following the bombing, making it difficult to account for all the victims and raising concerns that the death toll could climb further.

Photos and videos circulating on social media showed buildings on fire, damaged vehicles and smoke rising from the market area. The details could not be independently verified.

The Arakan Army is the military wing of a movement seeking 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.

The Arakan Army said it would take “effective retaliatory measures” against individuals and organisations it holds responsible for the airstrikes. The attack came amid a wider escalation in Rakhine, where airstrikes and artillery attacks in several townships have caused civilian deaths and damaged homes, religious buildings and schools.

Between September 17 and 27, at least six civilians were killed and 16 injured in airstrikes and artillery attacks across several Rakhine townships, according to local conflict monitoring. Separately, documented records show hundreds of civilian deaths from military airstrikes in Rakhine since 2024, though the figures are incomplete.

Myanmar has remained in turmoil since the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, 2021. After security forces suppressed protests with lethal force, many opponents of military rule took up arms, plunging large parts of the country into conflict.

The military has imposed severe restrictions on trade routes in Rakhine since fighting intensified, worsening food shortages in the region. Nearly half a million people have been displaced in Rakhine as a result of the conflict.

In December, a military airstrike on a hospital in Rakhine’s Mrauk-U township killed at least 34 people and wounded 80 others. The latest Kyauktaw attack has added to the mounting civilian toll from the conflict, with rescue teams continuing to search for victims and assess the damage.