Reports put the death toll from a Myanmar airstrike at a displacement camp in Rakhine State at 12, with 18 others injured, but local accounts initially gave a lower preliminary count. The reported strike hit Byarla camp in Ponnagyun Township on Friday, Nov. 13; the casualty figures have not been independently confirmed.

What reports say about the Byarla camp strike

Agence France-Presse, whose report was published by CNA, said witnesses and a local rescue worker reported 12 people killed and 18 injured at the camp. Al Jazeera also reported those figures, attributing them to rescuers.

Earlier on Nov. 14, Myanmar outlet Development Media Group reported an initial toll of at least eight dead and more than 10 injured, based on a resident’s account. The outlet said the figures were preliminary and had not been independently verified. Later updates from Development Media Group and Narinjara put the toll at 12 dead and 18 injured. The change reflects evolving reports, rather than an independently confirmed final count.

Casualty figures remain attributed, not independently confirmed

The reports identify the site as Byarla, also spelled Byar La or Byala, in Ponnagyun Township in Rakhine State. AFP said it was unable to reach Myanmar’s military for comment. The sources cited witnesses, local reporting and rescue personnel; they did not describe an independent investigation of the strike or its full impact.

Development Media Group also reported that the same camp had been hit on Oct. 4, when six displaced civilians were reported killed. That account has not been independently verified here. The current reports describe Byarla as a camp for people displaced by Myanmar’s civil war.

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Sources: CNA (AFP); Al Jazeera; Development Media Group; Narinjara.