Death Toll in Regime’s Aerial Massacre in Kyauktaw Rises to 50
The death toll from Monday’s airstrikes by the Myanmar military on a bridge and market in Kyauktaw has risen to 50 with nearly 60 injured, making it the regime’s deadliest aerial attack on civilians in Rakhine, according to the ethnic Arakan Army (AA), which controls most of the state.
A regime fighter jet on Monday afternoon bombed the town’s Kissapanadi (Kaladan) Bridge and a crowded marketplace known as the Indian Market.
Kyauktaw, a strategically located town that stretches along the banks of the Kaladan River, has been under the control of the AA since February 2024. The town is located a full 77 km from the state capital, Sittwe, where active clashes between the AA and the regime are taking place. The fighter jet’s devastating bombing of Kyauktaw targeted civilian areas in broad daylight.
The AA said Tuesday that the 50 civilian fatalities included pedestrians, shoppers and market laborers. Of the 58 civilians wounded, 22 sustained serious injuries, it added.
Prominent Rakhine writer and aid worker Wai Hun Aung wrote on Facebook on Monday night that, “The bodies of some of the dead could not be recovered because they were incinerated.”
The injured comprised 32 women and 26 men, he noted.
The AA accused the regime of intentionally targeting civilians in the airstrike, and vowed retaliation.
“We have specially documented all commanders, perpetrators and associated entities involved in this massive, war-crime-level mass-casualty aerial bombing, and we will deliver a fitting retaliation in the near future,” the AA said.
ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) condemned the strike and extended its deepest condolences to the victims’ families. It reaffirmed its “unwavering solidarity” with the people of Myanmar, calling for justice and an end to the junta’s violence.
On the same day, the regime conducted airstrikes on Minbya Township and Ngapali Beach in Thandwe Township, injuring nine civilians.
From September 17 to 27, the regime bombed nine townships across Rakhine State, including Mrauk-U, Ponnagyun and Pauktaw, killing six people, injuring 16 and destroying or damaging roughly 55 homes.
In August, 13 people were killed and 18 injured in attacks in Gwa Township and Chin State’s Paletwa Township.
Before regime leader Min Aung Hlaing transferred the military commander-in-chief role to General Ye Win Oo in March, the regime launched an airstrike on an AA-run prison in Rakhine State’s Ann Township, killing 116 prisoners of war and injuring 32 others.
On December 10, 2025, the regime conducted a deadly airstrike on Mrauk-U Hospital in Rakhine State, killing at least 33 people including patients, caregivers and medical staff.
Even among these recent attacks, the Kyauktaw massacre stands out as the deadliest recorded aerial bombing and atrocity committed by the regime against civilians in Rakhine.
“This is recorded as the deadliest mass-casualty aerial bombing by the regime in Rakhine State’s history,” Wai Hun Aung said.
Since launching a major offensive in November 2023, the AA has seized 14 out of Rakhine State’s 17 townships as well as Paletwa Township in neighboring Chin State. It is also attempting to seize the state capital Sittwe and Kyaukphyu, home to several Chinese mega projects, while expanding operations into Magwe, Bago and Ayeyarwady regions.
In early September, the regime launched Operation 4926 to retake lost territory in Rakhine State, but it has suffered heavy battlefield defeats.
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