The death toll from a Burmese air strike on a market in Rakhine State has risen to 50

The death toll rose to 50 people in a raid carried out by the Burmese army, yesterday (Monday), on a market in western Burma, according to two local relief workers.

Aid worker Wai Hon Aung said that the toll reached 50 dead and 58 wounded, indicating that the final toll may be higher due to the loss of some bodies as a result of the fires that broke out after the targeting.

Another volunteer worker, who requested to remain anonymous for security reasons, confirmed the same toll to Agence France-Presse.

Witnesses said that the army bombed the market and the bridge next to it in the town of Kyauktaw in Rakhine State, around midday on Monday, while an initial death toll was announced at about 30 people.

The Arakan Army rebel group that controls the region announced earlier Tuesday that the toll had reached 49 dead and 58 wounded, 22 of whom were in critical condition. A statement said that the dead were “innocent passers-by, market sellers, shoppers, and workers loading goods.”

The mall and the bridge next to it, which were targeted yesterday (Monday), have become a vital center of commercial activity since the outbreak of civil war in Burma following a military coup in 2021.

Rakhine (west) is one of the states most affected by the civil war that followed the military coup in Burma in 2021. But the market flourished thanks to the river trade route to India.

The Arakan Army controls most of Rakhine territory, with the exception of some areas that the army is still defending using a fleet of Russian and Chinese-made fighter aircraft.

The air force is accused of committing atrocities targeting civilians in schools, monasteries and during religious events, attacks that rights groups say may amount to war crimes.

United Nations data indicate that about half a million people are living in Rakhine in a state of displacement as a result of the conflict.

More than one hundred thousand people have been killed in Burma as a result of the conflict since the coup in 2021, according to ACLED, an American organization specializing in monitoring conflicts in the world.

اقرأ أيضاً

On Tuesday, the South Korean Defense Minister denounced a “violation of the truce” between the two Koreas following the explosion of a landmine last week in the demilitarized zone between the two sides, while the conclusions of the investigation indicate North Korea’s responsibility.

A mine explosion on September 21 in the area separating the two Koreas, where mines are widespread, resulted in the injury of three soldiers from the South, one of whom lost his leg.

Yesterday (Monday), the South Korean Ministry of Defense concluded that North Korean mines were likely behind last week's incident, according to Agence France-Presse.

“It is a blatant violation of the armistice agreement,” Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul said during a session in Parliament on Tuesday. “Since North Korea bears responsibility, we will take the necessary measures.”

While the area separating the two Koreas is demilitarized, its northern and southern borders remain among the most fortified sites in the world amid a heavy proliferation of mines.

The Minister of Defense announced during his interrogation session that an inspection conducted by the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Tuesday revealed an unexploded North Korean anti-personnel mine at the site.

Seoul and Pyongyang technically remain at war; The conflict between them ended with the signing of a truce agreement, not a peace treaty.