Witnesses say drone attack killed dozens in Myanmar, deadliest assault on civilians in weeks

A drone attack on Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar resulted in the deaths of dozens of people, including families with children, according to several witnesses. Survivors were reported to have been searching among the bodies to identify their dead and injured relatives.

The attack happened on Monday (August 5) as families were waiting to cross into neighboring Bangladesh. It was the deadliest known assault on civilians in Rakhine state during the recent weeks of fighting between junta troops and rebels.

Witness accounts 

Videos posted to social media showed piles of bodies strewn across muddy ground, their suitcases and backpacks scattered around them. Three survivors said more than 200 had died while a witness to the aftermath said he had seen at least 70 bodies.

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Mohammed Eleyas, a 35-year-old , told Reuters his heavily pregnant wife and 2-year-old daughter were wounded in the attack and later died. He was standing with them on the shoreline when drones began attacking the crowds. Eleyas is now in a refugee camp in Bangladesh.

Three witnesses told Reuters on Friday (August 9) that the attack was carried out by the Arakan Army; the group denied these allegations. Both the militia and Myanmar’s military blamed each other for the incident.

Arakan Army and violence in Rakhine

The Arakan Army describes itself as “a revolutionary armed organization of the peoples of Arakan.” The group, formed in 2009 as the military wing of the United League of Arakan (ULA), says it is “fighting for self-determination, national equality, justice and freedom.”

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Clashes have been occurring in Rakhine since the Arakan Army (AA) attacked junta forces in November, ending a ceasefire that had been largely holding since a military coup in 2021.

At least 1,000 Rohingya have fled the war in Myanmar’s Rakhine state to Bangladesh in the past few weeks, AFP cited Adnan Chowdhury, the government administrator of Bangladesh’s Teknaf border town.

With inputs from agencies