Regime troops in Arakan Army detention killed by airstrikes in Rakhine State

At least 21 people were reported killed and 30 others were injured by airstrikes carried out by the Myanmar Air Force in Chaungtu village in Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, on Tuesday.

The Arakan Army (AA) stated on Jan. 20 that the victims were regime troops and their families held at an AA detention facility “scheduled for release.”

Kyauktaw, located 60 miles (96 km) north of the Arakan State capital Sittwe, was seized by the AA in February 2024.

The AA claimed that a total of 28 people, including children, were killed and 25 others were injured by airstrikes carried out by the Myanmar Air Force on an undisclosed location near Ram Creek in Arakan’s Mrauk-U Township on Jan. 18, 2025.

Those killed were allegedly members of military families scheduled to be released from AA detention in Mrauk-U after fighting ended, according to the AA.

At least 176 people have been killed in 122 aerial attacks launched by regime forces in Arakan State since March 28, according to DVB data.

The AA has seized control of 14 out of 17 Arakan townships, as well as Paletwa Township in southern Chinland, since it launched its most recent offensive against regime forces on Nov. 13, 2023.

Sittwe, the port town of Kyaukphyu, and Manaung Island are under regime control.