Myanmar military airstrike kills dozens in Rakhine village, UN reports Reuters

By Shoon Naing

(Reuters) – Airstrikes by Myanmar’s military government in western Rakhine state this week have killed dozens of people, the United Nations said, as the Southeast Asian nation’s civil war nears its fourth year.

The civilian shadow government and the Arakan Army have also announced that the attack has killed dozens of people as tribal militias in Rakhine fight for autonomy in the region.

The junta struck the village of Kyuk Ni Mau in Yanbian city on Wednesday afternoon, destroying nearly 500 houses and killing more than 40 people, the Government of National Unity and the United Nations said in a statement released early Friday.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the reports. An Army spokesman did not return phone calls seeking comment. The junta rejects accusations that it is committing atrocities against civilians, saying it is “fighting terrorists”.

The Arakan Army released the names of 26 Muslim villagers who were killed and 12 wounded in the attack.

In the year Myanmar has been in turmoil since the ouster of military Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, sparking popular protests that have spiraled into widespread armed insurgency on multiple fronts. It changed.

The UN statement urged all parties to fulfill their obligations under international humanitarian law.

The Blood Money Campaign, a coalition of Myanmar activists, has urged international governments to swiftly punish those supplying aviation fuel to cut off the junta’s revenue.

“Only when this support stops will the airstrikes truly end,” said Mullen, a spokesman for the Blood Money Campaign, which goes by one name.