Myanmar junta air strike kills 40 in Rakhine state: Reports

A Myanmar junta air strike killed at least 40 people in a village in western Rakhine state, a rescue worker and ethnic minority armed group told AFP on Jan 9.

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The Arakan Army (AA) is engaged in a fierce fight with the military for control of Rakhine, where it has seized swathes of territory in the past year, all but cutting off the capital Sittwe.

The Rakhine conflict is one element of the bloody chaos that has engulfed Myanmar since the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government in a 2021 coup, sparking a widespread armed uprising.

AA spokesman Khaing Thu Kha told AFP a military jet bombed Kyauk Ni Maw, on Ramree island, around 1.20pm on Jan 8, starting a fire which engulfed more than 500 houses.

"According to initial reports, 40 innocent civilians were killed and 20 were wounded," he said.