BANGKOK, Thailand, March 19, 2024 (BSSAFP) - United Nations chief Antonio
Guterres has said he is "alarmed" by reports of ongoing Myanmar military air
strikes on villages in Rakhine state, where locals told AFP more than 20
people were killed on Monday.

Clashes have rocked Myanmar's western Rakhine state since the Arakan Army
(AA) attacked security forces in November, ending a ceasefire that had
largely held since the military's 2021 coup.

Guterres is "alarmed by reports of ongoing air strikes by the military,
including today in Minbya township that reportedly killed and injured many
civilians," a spokesman for the UN chief said Monday.

Minbya township lies east of state capital Sittwe, which has been all but cut
off by AA fighters in recent weeks.

The air strike hit the village of Thar Dar around 1:45 am on Monday, killing
10 men, four women and 10 children, one resident told AFP.

"There was no fighting in our village and they bombed us," he said, asking
for anonymity for security reasons.

Another resident, also asking for anonymity, said 23 people had been killed
in the blast and 18 wounded.

The recent conflict has displaced tens of thousands in Rakhine, where a 2017
military crackdown sent hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fleeing to
neighbouring Bangladesh.

With most mobile networks down communication with the riverine region is
extremely difficult.

Junta troops hold Sittwe but in recent weeks AA fighters have made gains in
surrounding districts.

The AA is one of several armed ethnic minority groups in Myanmar's border
regions, many of whom have battled the military since independence from
Britain in 1948 over autonomy and control of lucrative resources.