Drone attack kills dozens of Rohingya fleeing Myanmar, including children

Myanmar has been in turmoil since 2021 when the military seized power from a democratically elected government

Reading Time:3 minutes

Rohingya Muslims who spent four days in the open after crossing over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, carry their belongings towards a refugee camp in Bangladesh, in October, 2017. Photo: AP

Published: 5:02pm, 10 Aug 2024

A drone attack on Rohingya fleeing Myanmar killed many dozens of people, including families with children, several witnesses said, describing survivors wandering between piles of bodies to identify dead and injured relatives.

Four witnesses, activists and a diplomat described drone attacks on Monday that struck down families waiting to cross the border into neighbouring Bangladesh.

A heavily pregnant woman and her 2-year-old daughter were among the victims in the attack, the single deadliest known assault on civilians in Rakhine state during recent weeks of fighting between junta troops and rebels.

Three of the witnesses told journalists on Friday that the Arakan Army was responsible, allegations the group denied. The militia and Myanmar’s military blamed each another. Journalists could not verify how many people had died in the attack or independently determine responsibility.

Videos posted to social media showed piles of bodies strewn across muddy ground, their suitcases and backpacks scattered around them. Three survivors said more than 200 had died while a witness to the aftermath said he had seen at least 70 bodies.

Reporters verified the location of the videos as just outside the coastal Myanmar town of Maungdaw, though were unable to independently confirm the date the videos were filmed.