Myanmar army airstrike in Rakhine state kills about 40 people :::: Hundreds of homes burned in Kyauk Ni Maw

On Dec 20, 2024, a Rakhine Buddhist ethnic armed organisation (EAO), announced it had captured the Myanmar Army's western command at Rakhine. 

Myanmar army airstrike in Rakhine state kills about 40 people, says opposition group

Hundreds of homes were burned in Kyauk Ni Maw village in the aerial attack on Rakhine state, says Arakan Army 

Myanmar has been racked by violence since the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. After the army used lethal force to suppress peaceful demonstrations, many opponents of military rule took up arms and large parts of the country are now embroiled in conflict.

A handout photo provided by the Arakan Army shows flames rising from homes after an army airstrike hit Kyauk Ni Maw village, in Ramree township in Rakhine state, Myanmar. About 40 people were killed in the attack. Photograph: AP/The Guardian 

Rakhine is where India is developing a large infrastructure project connecting Kolkata to the north-east and beyond. It is in western Myanmar sharing a border with Bangladesh. 

It has been in the news since 2017 for the exodus of its Rohingya people escaping atrocities of the Myanmar army. 

Khaing Thukha, a spokesperson for the Arakan Army, told The Associated Press that a jet fighter bombed the village on Wednesday afternoon, killing 40 civilians and injuring more than 20 others. (The Guardian)

“All the dead were civilians. Among the dead and injured are women and children,” Khaing Thukha said. 

A fire started by the airstrike spread through the village, destroying more than 500 houses, Khaing Thukha added.

The attack occurred Wednesday in Kyauk Ni Maw village on Ramree island, an area controlled by the ethnic Arakan Army in western Rakhine state, with hundreds of houses burned in a fire triggered by the bombing, they said. 

The Myanmar's military rulers have not announced any attack in the area.

A major power shift took place in Myanmar's Rakhine state and this will have a far-reaching consequences for the region.  

By late 2023, the Myanmar Army lost control over chunks of territory, including along the Chinese border in the north-eastern Shan state to an EAO coalition called the Three Brotherhood Alliance, which included the AA. 

Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/indias-options-as-myanmar-junta-collapses-in-rakhine-3346057