Myanmar Drone Attack: Dozens of Rohingya Muslims Fleeing to Bangladesh Killed

According to several eyewitnesses Myanmar Escapees from Rohingya On the Muslims Drone strikes Dozens of people died, including families with children.

Reuters news agency, citing four eyewitnesses, social workers and a diplomat, reported that Monday’s drone strike crossed the border into a neighboring country. Bangladesh Families waiting to enter were targeted.

Survivors of the attack appeared to be searching for relatives and injured in the pile of corpses. A pregnant woman and her two-year-old daughter are among those who lost their lives in the attack.

The latest attack was the deadliest attack on civilians in Rakhine state in recent weeks during fighting between Myanmar’s troops and insurgents.

Three witnesses told Reuters on Friday that the Arakan Army was responsible for the attack. However, the armed group engaged in the armed struggle for the independence of the state of Arakan has denied these allegations.

The Arakan militia and the Myanmar army blamed each other. Reuters could not confirm how many people were killed in the attack, nor could those responsible be independently determined.

In videos posted on social media, bodies can be seen piled up in a muddy field. Suitcases and backpacks are scattered around them.

Three survivors said more than 200 people died in the attack, while an eyewitness said they saw at least 70 bodies.

Reuters confirmed that the videos were shot outside Myanmar’s coastal city of Maungdao. Reuters could not independently verify the date the videos were made.

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Eyewitness Muhammad Ilyas, 35, said in a refugee camp in Bangladesh that his pregnant wife and two-year-old daughter were injured in the attack, and later died.

He said he was standing on the beach with his wife and daughter when the drone attacked people.

Another eyewitness, 28-year-old Shamsuddin, said he survived with his wife and infant son.

Speaking from a refugee camp in Bangladesh, he said that many people were lying dead after the attack and some people were screaming because of their injuries.

Fighting continues in the region

Rohingya Muslims have been persecuted in Myanmar for a long time. More than 730,000 of them fled the country in 2017 following a military-led crackdown.

According to the United Nations, the crackdown was carried out with the intention of mass murder. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military took power from a democratically elected government in 2021, and mass protests have sparked widespread armed struggle.

Rohingya Muslims have been fleeing Rakhine state for weeks as the Arakan Army, one of the many armed groups fighting, has made sweeping gains in the north, where a large Muslim population lives.