Sawt Falasteen - Myanmar airstrike death toll rises to 50: aid workers

Witnesses say the military bombed the riverside commercial hub in Kyauktaw town, Rakhine state, around midday (0530 GMT) on Monday, when the initial death toll was reported at around 30.

"The death toll has reached 50, and 58 people were injured," said aid worker Wai Hun Aung, warning the final fatality figure may be higher because some bodies were lost in fires following the bombing.

A second local volunteer gave the same death toll, requesting anonymity for security reasons.

It has not been possible to contact the Myanmar military for comment on the attack.

The Arakan Army (AA) -- a local ethnic rebel force controlling the area -- earlier on Tuesday said the number of fatalities reached 49 with 58 more wounded -- 22 in critical condition.

Those killed were "innocent passersby, market vendors, shoppers and cargo loaders", a statement said.

The market and adjacent bridge hit in Monday's bombardment had become a hive of trading activity since civil war broke out in Myanmar following a 2021 military coup.

Rakhine has suffered some of the direst conditions in the war, largely cut off from the rest of Myanmar, and the market thrived on a river trade route to India, which had become a lifeline.

The AA control almost all of Rakhine, save for a few urban centres still defended by the military wielding a fleet of fighter jets manufactured by Russia and China.

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.

Nearly half-a-million people are living displaced in Rakhine as a result of the conflict, UN data says.

More than 100,000 people have been killed in Myanmar in conflict since the 2021 putsch unseated Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government, according to conflict monitor ACLED.

B.AbuZeid--SF-PST