Junta orders Sittwe residents to dismantle home bomb shelters
As heavy fighting intensifies across Sittwe, residents attempting to build bomb shelters at their homes for protection are being ordered by the military junta to dismantle them, according to local sources.
DMG Newsroom
24 October 2026, Sittwe
As heavy fighting intensifies across Sittwe, residents attempting to build bomb shelters at their homes for protection are being ordered by the military junta to dismantle them, according to local sources.
Clashes between the military junta and the Arakan Army (AA) have escalated sharply in Sittwe Township since early October, with residents inside the city hearing constant heavy artillery fire, small-arms fire and aircraft overhead.
In response, residents began constructing makeshift bomb shelters and stacking sandbags inside their residential compounds. However, junta soldiers and police officers have been going house to house to stop construction and enforce orders to dismantle the shelters.
“Because of the constant sounds of gunfire, residents built bomb shelters and sandbag barricades in their homes,” a male Sittwe resident said. “Junta troops and police came and forced us to demolish them, demanding to know what we were building them for. Junta soldiers arrived in groups, took photographs and ordered everything destroyed.”
On the morning of October 23, a junta Y-12 aircraft reportedly dropped bombs on downtown Sittwe, killing at least six residents and injuring more than 30 others.
The bombing has thrown Sittwe into chaos, heightening residents’ fears of further airstrikes and approaching ground combat.
“Aircraft are circling over various areas of Sittwe,” another resident said. “The overall situation in Sittwe right now is terrifying.”
Following the downtown bombing, commercial shops, market stalls and schools across the city have shut down.
Sittwe remains the junta’s last major urban stronghold in northern Arakan State, where the Arakan Army is conducting a major offensive, resulting in fierce clashes on multiple fronts.
As heavy fighting draws closer to the city’s outskirts, residents have been desperately attempting to fortify their homes with bomb shelters.
Tensions remain high as the junta continues to reinforce its frontline outposts around the Regional Operations Command (ROC) headquarters in Sittwe, carrying out daily airstrikes and artillery barrages that further heighten civilian anxiety.
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