KYAUKTAW (Myanmar): A Myanmar military airstrike has killed seven civilians including a five-year-old child in the country’s conflict-ravaged west, a witness and a rescue worker said Thursday.
Civil war engulfed Myanmar in 2021 when the military staged a coup, ending a decade-long democratic interlude and deposing the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
The military’s air force furnished with Chinese and Russian jets has been key to fending off opposing pro-democracy guerillas and ethnic minority armies, but rights groups say they often strike civilians.
Local rescue worker Naing Win Lwin said from around 3:00 pm (0830 GMT) on Wednesday a trio of jets dropped nine bombs around the town of Kyauktaw in the western state of Rakhine, which borders Bangladesh.
He said seven people including the young child were killed and 15 people were wounded.
A Myanmar military spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
In Kyauktaw, the ruins of buildings were charred and still smouldering on Thursday as shopkeeper Htay Htay recounted losing her husband among the seven fatalities.
“I even went to check the places that were on fire, but I could not find him. I didn’t realise he was inside our house,” said the 48-year-old.
“It seems he entered the house to look for me during the strike. Only later, when they brought out his body, did I find him,” she added. “I have no words to say.”
Rakhine is controlled almost entirely by ethnic minority faction the Arakan Army, which is also accused of committing atrocities in the civil war.
Comments