Airstrike near a market in Myanmar's Rakhine state kills 33 people

BANGKOK (AP) — An airstrike carried out by Myanmar’s military near a market in territory controlled by a powerful rebel group killed at least 33 people and wounded 36 others on Monday, the group and a rescue official said. A hospital was damaged in a Myanmar military airstrike that killed more than 30 people in Mrauk U, western Rakhine state. (AFP pic)KYAUKTAW: Dozens of people were killed in a Myanmar military airstrike on Monday near a market in the country's war-torn Rakhine state, which borders Bangladesh, according to a rebel group that controls the area and a local aid worker.At least 33 people have died and 36 were injured in the airstrike in the town of Kyauktaw in Rakhine state, according to the Arakan Army, a rebel group fighting the military.The number of victims was confirmed by aid worker Wai Hun Aung, who has a team operating in the area.Myanmar has been in turmoil since a 2021 coup triggered a civil war, with a collection of armed groups - including the Arakan Army - fighting the military across multiple frontlines."This location is quite far from the fighting and has nothing to do with the conflict," said Wai Hun Aung, referring to Kyauktaw, a riverside town located in the north of the state.Reuters could not independently verify the details of the incident.A spokesman for the Myanmar government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The government has previously said the military "exercises maximum restraint to avoid civilian harm".The Arakan Army and Wai Hun Aung said the airstrike at Kyauktaw was among the deadliest such incidents in Rakhine since an aerial attack at a hospital in the west of the state last December that killed at least 30 people.