Sept 29 (Reuters) – The United Nations expressed alarm on Tuesday at reports that an airstrike by the Myanmar military near the country’s border with Bangladesh had killed 50 people and wounded dozens more, many of them critically.
A UN spokesperson said continuing violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state underscored that conditions did not currently exist for the safe return of refugees and other displaced people to Myanmar.
“This latest airstrike brings that reality into sharp focus,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a UN briefing in New York.
“The secretary-general strongly condemns the attacks and calls on all parties to end the violence immediately, to protect civilians and comply with their obligations under international law,” he said, citing UN chief Antonio Guterres.
Monday’s airstrike in Kyauktaw town, which lies on the border with Bangladesh, killed 50 people and wounded at least 58, said the Arakan Army, which is battling Myanmar’s military. The numbers were confirmed by local aid worker Wai Hun Aung.
Women and children were among the bodies recovered on Tuesday, according to photos shared on social media by Wai Hun Aung.
The Kyauktaw airstrike is Rakhine’s deadliest such attack since a December hospital bombing that killed at least 30 people.
Arakan Army spokesperson Khine Thu Kha said the military “deliberately targeted densely populated markets, schools, civilians, and residential buildings through airstrikes.”
A Myanmar government spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. The military has previously said it exercises maximum restraint to avoid civilian harm.
Myanmar has been locked in a nationwide civil war since a 2021 coup, with an alliance of armed groups, including the Arakan Army, fighting against the military.
The conflict has since killed around 100,000 people and displaced over 3.5 million in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation.
Malaysia deported around 1,500 Myanmar nationals on Tuesday in the first phase of a repatriation plan agreed to with Myanmar that Malaysia says is voluntary but has been condemned by rights groups.
A statement from the office of UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk said the casualty count from the airstrike was expected to rise.
“Reports said Monday’s strikes occurred during a busy period when large numbers of civilians were present in and around the market of over 200 shops operated by members of multiple communities, including Rakhine, Rohingya, Hindu, Daingnet, and other groups,” it said.
Khine Thu Kha said the Arakan Army would use all available means to retaliate against the military and anyone involved in the bombing of civilians.
Guterres also urged all parties in the conflict to enable safe, sustained and unimpeded access for the United Nations and other aid workers to deliver humanitarian assistance.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Additional reporting by Simon Lewis; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
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