Market airstrike underlines 'grave plight' of Myanmar civilians: UN

The United Nations rights chief deplored Tuesday the deadly airstrike on a market in Myanmar, saying it underlined the "grave plight" faced by civilians during the country's civil war.

Witnesses said the military's air force raided the riverside commercial hub in Kyauktaw town in Myanmar's western Rakhine State on Monday.

The airstrike, which killed 50 people, was one of the deadliest recent bombardments in the conflict.

"This latest attack raises serious concerns about respect for international humanitarian law with respect to the conduct of hostilities," said Volker Turk, the UN high commissioner for human rights.

"Warring parties must abide by the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack," he said in a statement.

Vendors, customers, transport workers and other civilians, including children, were reportedly among the dead, while the casualty count is expected to rise, the statement said.

The market and adjacent bridge hit in Monday's bombardment had become a hive of trading activity since civil war broke out in Myanmar following a 2021 military coup.

The area is controlled by the Arakan Army (AA), a local ethnic rebel force.

"The strikes underline the grave plight faced by civilians across the country -- but none more so than in Rakhine State," said Turk.

"For years now, Myanmar has been wracked by extreme violence, and the country's population has been subjected to pervasive human rights violations and abuses."

Turk pointed to continued reports of arbitrary arrests, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, enforced disappearance, forced labour and forced recruitment -- in particular impacting the Rohingya minority -- by both the army and the AA.

Rakhine has suffered some of the worst conditions in the war, largely cut off from the rest of Myanmar.

The AA controls almost all of Rakhine, save for a few urban centres still defended by the military wielding a fleet of fighter jets manufactured by Russia and China.

Nearly half a million people are displaced in Rakhine as a result of the conflict, UN data says.