Junta Launches Widespread Airstrikes on Civilian Targets Across Arakan State

The Myanmar military has launched a series of airstrikes targeting non-military locations across Arakan (Rakhine) State, dropping bombs on towns, villages, markets, and religious structures using fighter jets and Y-12 utility aircraft, according to local sources and the Arakan Army (AA).

In an October 1 statement, the AA condemned the ongoing aerial attacks, highlighting a major bombing on September 28 at Kyauktaw’s Indian Market and Kissapanadi Bridge area that killed 50 civilians and injured 57 others.

The AA added that junta forces have since carried out consecutive airstrikes across Rathedaung, Ponnagyun, Virathani (Pauktaw), Kyauktaw, and Thandwe townships.

Fresh strikes were reported across several townships on October 1. In Kyauktaw Township, a fighter jet dropped bombs on Zeechaung Village and a Buddhist monastery in Thagyar Ward, while a Y-12 aircraft dropped three bombs on surrounding farmland, damaging the monastery and agricultural fields.

In Thandwe Town, a fighter jet struck near Bodhikone Market in Ward 6 on the afternoon of October 1, injuring two residents—45-year-old U Si Thu and 38-year-old Daw Sabai (also known as May Thandar Win). Meanwhile, in Kyaukphyu Township, an airstrike hit Sane Town around 9:00 a.m. the same day, though no casualties were reported as residents had previously evacuated to safer areas.

The latest bombardments follow heavy night-time airstrikes on September 30 across Rathedaung, Ponnagyun, and Virathani townships.

Those attacks killed a male resident in Rathedaung's Kutaung Village, injured his wife, wounded five women in Virathani, and left eight civilians injured in Ponnagyun Township, including a four-year-old child.

Local human rights monitors and residents report that the military's continued reliance on airpower has increasingly hit high-density civilian sites, including markets, farmland, and residential areas, driving further displacement across the state.