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Myanmar's military has killed 70 people, including many of its troops in rebel captivity, in two airstrikes in Rakhine state where Arakan Army insurgents have been making major gains against junta forces, the group said.
The Arakan Army, or AA, has captured many members of the military and pro-junta militia in advances over recent months in which they have pushed junta forces back into just a few pockets of territory in Myanmar’s western-most state.
The military has responded with airstrikes, taking an increasingly deadly toll of civilians in areas under AA control, the rebels and rights groups say.
On Sunday, an airstrike in Pauktaw township, just east of the state capital of Sittwe, killed at least 17 people, including seven prisoners, and wounded 10, the AA said in a statement.
“People didn’t have time to run because the plane flew in so quickly,” said one resident of the area, who declined to be identified for safety reasons.
On Monday, junta jets launched an airstrike in Maungdaw township, in the north of Rakhine state near the border with Bangladesh, killing more than 50 people, the AA said in another statement.
The junta has not released any information about the attacks and telephone calls to spokesperson Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun went unanswered.
Bombs dropped in Maungdaw hit a former military position captured by the AA, about five kilometers (three miles) east of Maungdaw town, where the insurgents have detained prisoners, including members of the mostly Mulsim Rohingya community who joined a pro-junta militia.
The AA said a U.N. building in Wai Thar Li village was also bombed. Radio Free Asia RFA tried to contact the U.N. office in Myanmar Yangon but a staff member said the office could not respond outside working hours.
International humanitarian organizations have been helping civilians displaced by fighting in the region but most groups have withdrawn staff and suspended their work as the security situation has deteriorated.
The AA has warned against attacks in densely populated areas under its control. The junta denies targeting civilians.
Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn.