A military airstrike on a busy market in western Myanmar killed at least 49 people and wounded 58 others on Monday, in what a senior rescue official described as one of the most severe airstrikes to hit Rakhine state. The attack struck the India Market and a nearby bridge in Kyauktaw, a town about 340 kilometres west of Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city, around noon local time. A fighter jet dropped bombs on the area, killing vendors, shoppers and pedestrians, according to the Arakan Army, the ethnic armed group that controls the township. Twenty-two of the wounded were said to be critically injured. Photos and videos circulating on social media showed buildings ablaze, damaged vehicles and a partially destroyed bridge.

Kyauktaw's market served as the main wholesale centre for the region, drawing traders from across Rakhine state. The area's economic importance is partly a consequence of the conflict itself: Myanmar's military has imposed severe restrictions on trade routes into Rakhine since fighting intensified, cutting the state off from much of the rest of the country and forcing residents to rely on supply lines through neighbouring countries. A local resident told reporters that the jet made three bombing runs over the area.

The Arakan Army, the well-trained and well-armed military wing of a movement seeking autonomy for Rakhine's ethnic minority, launched an offensive in the state in November 2023 and has since seized 14 of its 17 townships, including a strategically important regional military headquarters. The group said it