Myanmar military airstrike kills 33 in market area

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 "may continue to increase".

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.

It was not possible to reach the military for comment.

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.