UN chief decries violence in west Myanmar as two dozen villagers are reported killed in airstrikes

BANGKOK (AP) — Military airstrikes in western Myanmar killed at least 25 members of the country’s Muslim Rohingya minority, including children, local media reported, prompting the U.N. chief to express concerns over the escalating violence.

According to the reports, the airstrikes took place early on Monday morning and targeted the village of Thada, north of Minbya township in Rakhine state. The strikes also left another 25 people wounded. The military government had no immediate comment on the reports.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres expressed deep concern over “the deteriorating situation and escalation of conflict in Myanmar,” according to a spokesperson.

The U.N. chief “condemns all forms of violence and reiterates his call for the protection of civilians, including aid workers in accordance with international humanitarian law, for the cessation of hostilities, and humanitarian access,” said Guterres’ deputy spokesperson, Farhan Haq, in a statement on Monday.

Myanmar’s military is increasingly using airstrikes to counter the widespread armed struggle against its rule since its seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.

A report issued at the end of last year by Nyan Lynn Thit Analytica, a Myanmar research and advocacy organization, said that since the military’s 2021 takeover, 936 civilians had been killed and 878 wounded in 1,652 airstrikes. It said 137 religious buildings, 76 schools and 28 hospital and dispensaries had been damaged by aerial attacks.

The Rohingya village of Thada is about 340 kilometers (120 miles) southwest of Mandalay, the country’s second largest city. However, almost 90% of Myanmar’s people are Buddhist, especially the Burman majority, which