By Shoon Naing
(Reuters) – Dozens of people were killed in an airstrike by Myanmar’s military government in the country’s western Rakhine state this week, the United Nations said, amid civil war in the Southeast Asian country is approaching its fourth year.
The civilian shadow government and the Arakan Army, a Rakhine-based ethnic militia fighting for autonomy for the region, also said the attack left dozens dead.
The junta struck the village of Kyauk Ni Maw in Yanbye commune on Wednesday afternoon, destroying around 500 houses and killing more than 40 people, according to the Government of National Unity and a UN statement released Friday evening.
Reuters could not immediately verify this information. An Army spokesperson did not respond to phone calls seeking comment. The junta rejects accusations of atrocities against civilians, saying it is fighting “terrorists.”
The Arakan Army released the names of 26 Muslim villagers it said were killed and 12 others injured in the attack.
Myanmar has been gripped by unrest since the military toppled the elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, sparking mass protests that escalated into a widespread armed rebellion on multiple fronts.
The UN statement urged all parties to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law.
The Blood Money Campaign, a coalition of Myanmar activists working to suppress the junta’s revenues, has urged international governments to quickly sanction entities that supply it with aviation fuel.
“Only when this support stops will the airstrikes truly end,” said Mulan, a spokeswoman for the one-named Blood Money Campaign.
