Myanmar junta kills at least 41 in airstrike

ISTANBUL

A junta airstrike in Myanmar has killed at least 41 people and injured 50 others in the Rakhine State, local media reported on Thursday.

During the bombardment a day earlier, over 500 houses were destroyed in the Arakan Army (AA)-controlled town which the ethnic armed group seized from the Junta last March.

Explosion-ignited fires continued on Thursday, Myanmar Now News reported.

Locals claim that the victims include both ethnic Rakhine and Rohingya, however, the exact identities have yet to be confirmed.

The Arakan Army is an ethnic nationalist armed group based in Rakhine State and is engaged in armed conflict with the Myanmar junta.

The majority of Rohingya, who live in the Rakhine State, was driven out of Myanmar by a military crackdown in August 2017.

Nearly 500,000 of them continue to live in territory controlled by the Arakan Army, which has complete control of the border with Bangladesh.

Rohingya, long persecuted by Myanmar's military, are now facing new threats from the Arakan Army.