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Myanmar Airstrike on Displaced Persons Camp in Rakhine State Kills 12, Including a Child
By Maya Wilson
Photo: Arezarni / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
An airstrike by Myanmar’s military on a camp for internally displaced people in Rakhine State killed 12 people, including a five-year-old child, and injured 18 others on Friday evening, November 13, according to witnesses and a rescue worker cited in AFP reporting carried by Channel NewsAsia.
The strike hit the Byar La camp in Ponnagyun township, in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State. The casualty figures were reported by witnesses and Khine Hein Htet, chairman of the Phyusin Yin Khwin Foundation, who was a rescue worker at the scene.
According to their accounts, 12 people died in the attack and another 18 were injured. The dead included a five-year-old child, underscoring the impact of the reported strike on a camp sheltering people displaced from their homes.
The information reported by AFP identifies the location as the Byar La camp for internally displaced people and places the attack on Friday evening. It does not provide further details about the circumstances of the strike or the identities of those killed and injured.
The casualty account comes from witnesses and Khine Hein Htet, rather than from a statement by Myanmar’s military. The military could not be reached for comment, AFP reported.
Military account unavailable
There was no military account of the reported airstrike in the available reporting. The circumstances surrounding the attack, including the military’s explanation for the strike, remain unknown.
The reporting also does not establish whether authorities have issued a response or provided their own account of what happened at the camp. No official explanation or confirmation from the military was included.
The reported toll stands at 12 people killed and 18 injured, according to the witnesses and the rescue worker cited by AFP. It remains unclear whether further casualties will be reported. The available information does not say whether the number of injured people could change or provide an update on their conditions.
The strike on Byar La adds to the reported toll of violence affecting civilians in Myanmar, but the facts available about this particular incident remain limited to its location, timing and the casualty account provided by those cited in the AFP report.
For now, the deaths and injuries have been reported by witnesses and a rescue worker at the scene. With Myanmar’s military unavailable for comment, its account of the incident and any response from the authorities remain unreported.
Maya Wilson
World Desk Lead, The Library Media
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