At least two killed in blast in Myanmar’s Rakhine state capital

At least two people were killed and several others injured in an explosion in central Sittwe, the capital of Myanmar’s western Rakhine State, on Friday morning, according to local sources and a spokesperson for the military-appointed state government. The explosion occurred on Min Bar Gyi Road at around 8am on Friday. There was speculation that it resulted from either an airstrike or a mortar attack, but neither explanation could be confirmed. Junta troops have blocked roads in the city. Accounts of the casualties differed. The junta’s state government spokesperson Myint Soe told Myanmar Now that two people were killed and five seriously injured, while a source living in Sittwe reported three deaths and two injuries. The exact toll could not immediately be confirmed. Myint Soe blamed the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic armed group fighting the military for control of Rakhine State, saying the explosion was caused by a rocket fired into the city rather than an airstrike. “It was a rocket, not an aircraft. It landed near the Shwe Ngar bakery in the city centre,” he said, adding that an airstrike would have caused more deaths. Myanmar Now has contacted the AA for comment and is waiting for a response. Neither the type of weapon used nor the group responsible for the attack could be independently verified. Fighting between the military and the AA near Sittwe has intensified since the beginning of the year, with the military carrying out repeated airstrikes in the surrounding area. Military forces have been trying to retake Ponnagyun Township, northeast of Sittwe, leading to clashes between the two townships and repeated airstrikes inside Ponnagyun. The military has also been shelling villages along the Mayu River in nearby Rathedaung Township daily, forcing residents to flee. The AA controls 14 of Rakhine State’s 17 townships, as well as neighbouring Paletwa Township in Chin State, and aims to capture the whole of Rakhine.

At least two killed in blast in Myanmar’s Rakhine state capital

An explosion in central Sittwe killed at least two people amid intensifying fighting for the Rakhine State capital, with conflicting accounts of who is responsible

Subscribe for full access

Fear grips Mandalay as junta-backed militias and kidnappers prey on residents

For Myanmar migrants in Thailand, hope is a 100-baht lottery ticket

‘Will it be different this time, Grandson?’

Across a border and into a war: A Karenni leader’s final journey

Subscribe for full access

Related Articles

Nighttime junta airstrike kills 2 and injures 6 in Pauktaw Township

Suu Kyi speaks to son for first time in more than five years

Six women killed by Myanmar junta airstrike in Budalin

Yangon’s luxury condo buyers left waiting as projects stall