\n A military airstrike on a market in western Myanmar killed 33 people on Monday and wounded 36 more, a rebel faction which controls the area said in a statement.\n<\/p>\n
\n The Arakan Army said the death toll of the strike around midday (0530 GMT) on a market and adjacent bridge in Kyauktaw town of Rakhine state \"may continue to increase\".\n<\/p>\n
\n A witness who requested anonymity for safety reasons saw more than 30 bodies at the scene on Monday afternoon, where human remains were visible among smouldering wreckage and cratered roads.\n<\/p>\n
\n It was not possible to reach the military for comment.\n<\/p>\n
\n Khaing Nu said her younger sister -- a market vendor -- remained missing in the aftermath as firefighters doused flames and recovered bodies were laid out in ranks under green plastic sheeting.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"When I went to check the place where my younger sister sells fruits at the market, neither the place nor herself were there anymore,\" said the 57-year-old.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"I don't even know where to go. I also feel worried for my younger sister's little daughter, who has been left behind. Whenever I think about the future, my heart hurts.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n The western state of Rakhine is witnessing some of the direst conditions in Myanmar's civil war which was unleashed by a 2021 military coup.\n<\/p>\n
\n The market area hit on Monday has become a hive of commercial activity since the conflict broke out.\n<\/p>\n
\n It is on the banks of a river crossing the Indian border, providing a vital trade route for a state which has become largely cut off to the rest of Myanmar -- suffering increasing hunger and poverty.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"When I heard that fighter jets were coming, I crouched and hid near the guard post,\" 49-year-old Khin Myint Chay said.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"A short while later, I heard an explosion. After that, I lost my hearing for a while.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n The AA control almost all of Rakhine, save a handle of urban areas occupied by the besieged armed forces.\n<\/p>\n
\n But the military is able to fend them off with its fleet of fighter jets manufactured by Russia and China.\n<\/p>\n
\n The air wing is also accused of committing atrocities targeting civilians at schools, monasteries and religious festivals -- attacks rights groups say may constitute war crimes.\n<\/p>\n
\n Nearly half-a-million people are living displaced in Rakhine as a result of the conflict, according to UN data.\n<\/p>\n
\n More than 100,000 people have been killed in Myanmar in conflict since the 2021 putsch unseated Aung Sang Suu Kyi's elected government, according to conflict monitor ACLED.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A military airstrike on a market in western Myanmar killed 33 people on Monday and wounded 36 more, a rebel faction which controls the area said in a statement. The Arakan Army said the death toll of the strike around midday (0530 GMT) on a market and adjacent bridge in Kyauktaw town of Rakhine state […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-166078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n