The United Nations has announced that dozens of people have died in Myanmar’s military airstrike in Rakhine state Military news

An attack on Kyauk Ni Mau village in Ramree Island killed more than 40 people and destroyed nearly 500 houses.

The United Nations, for its part, said dozens of people were killed in airstrikes by Myanmar troops in western Rakhine state this week, four years after the coup, and the country continues to be engulfed in violence.

The United Nations said in a statement late Friday that military government forces attacked a village in the island city of Ramre, Kiuk Ni Mau, killing more than 40 people and destroying nearly 500 homes.

In the year Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, sparking popular protests on multiple fronts that have killed thousands of people.

According to the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar, women and children were among those killed in Rakhine.

“The fighting in Rakhine has recently escalated, with civilians paying a heavy price for the conflict,” the statement said.

“Civilians face extreme risks, severe food insecurity and a general breakdown of critical public services.”

The UN report corroborates earlier testimony by a rescue worker and an Arakan Army (AA) militant group about the deadly attack in Rakhine.

AA has released the names of at least 26 Muslim villagers among those killed and 12 injured in the attack.

Photos from the day after the bombings obtained by Agence France-Presse showed shocked residents covered in coal, smoldering debris, the ground littered with tin, trees stripped of leaves and buildings reduced to rubble.

A spokesman for the military government did not return phone calls from Reuters and AFP news agencies seeking comment.

The government has repeatedly denied allegations that its forces are committing atrocities against civilians, saying it is trying to fight “terrorists”.

The military has been struggling to fight those who oppose the regime on various fronts around the country, and many areas are currently under the control of various rebel groups.

In addition to the AA, government forces are fighting groups such as the Karen National Union and the Kachin Liberation Army, among others.

Friday’s UN statement urged all parties to fulfill their obligations under international humanitarian law.

It also called on all parties to “guarantee uninterrupted humanitarian access to help vulnerable people”.

Meanwhile, the Blood Money Campaign, a coalition of Myanmar activists, has urged international governments to swiftly punish those supplying aviation fuel to cut off the military government’s revenue.

“Only when this support stops will the airstrikes truly end,” said Mullen, a spokesman for the Blood Money Campaign, which goes by one name.

Last week, the United Nations said more than 3.5 million people had been displaced by the conflict in Myanmar – an increase of 1.5 million from last year.