Junta aerial bombardment of Taungup leaves two residents dead, one injured

DMG Newsroom

6 October 2026, Taungup

Two local residents died of sudden cardiac arrest and another was injured after the military regime deployed a fleet of jet fighters to bomb the former Military Operations Command 5 (MOC 5) headquarters and former battalion bases near Taungup Town, Arakan State, on the morning of October 6.

Between 9:30 a.m. and shortly after 10:00 a.m., military jet fighters targeted the former MOC 5 headquarters, Light Infantry Battalion 346 and Light Infantry Battalion 544, dropping more than 20 bombs during a continuous one-hour bombardment.

"The jet fighters kept bombing around the town for a full hour," a local resident from Taungup Town said. "The overwhelming noise and terror caused two residents to collapse and die of cardiac arrest. Shops across the town have completely closed, and people fled frantically on motorcycles into side streets to escape."

The deceased were identified as 52-year-old U Zaw Khin Oo from Seikkanthit Ward and U Hla Sein from Sayyotan Road in Taungup Town.

Local sources confirmed that 31-year-old Ko Maung Chan Tha from Phonenyo Village sustained shrapnel injuries to his thigh during the attack.

The sudden bombardment by military aircraft has sparked severe panic among residents in the town.

"The junta jet fighters were circling directly above the town in formation, creating extreme anxiety that our neighborhood would be hit next," another local resident from Taungup Town said. "With military airstrikes happening everywhere in Arakan State right now, residents are terrified. Markets and shops are shut down, and the entire town is quiet."

The military regime has escalated daily air attacks against towns controlled by the Arakan Army, causing growing concern among civilians over aerial hazards across Arakan State.

On the evening of October 5 at around 9:00 p.m., military jet fighters bombed mountain ranges west of Chaungtu Village in Kyauktaw Township, injuring a child.

Additionally, military air attacks on two displacement camps in Ponnagyun Township on October 4 and 5 killed eight civilians and injured 11 others.

As military forces suffer heavy setbacks against the Arakan Army's defensive and counteroffensive operations during Operation 4926, the regime has increasingly targeted civilian areas, driving civilian casualty figures up daily across Arakan State.