Six civilians killed and 16 injured in 11 days of Myanmar junta airstrikes in Rakhine

Mizzima

Six civilians were killed and 16 others injured within 11 days, from September 17 to 27, due to airstrikes conducted by the military junta forces in the Arakan or Rakhine region, the Arakan Army (AA) announced in a statement dated 27 September.

The AA alleged that the military junta forces, facing military defeats on the battlefronts across the Rakhine, have been conducting daily aerial bombings targeting non-military sites. These targets include schools, religious buildings, hospitals, clinics, displacement camps, and civilian residential areas.

According to the AA’s statement, airstrikes were carried out during this period in Ann, Gwa, Kyauktaw, Ponnagyun, Pauktaw, Rathedaung, Thandwe, and Mrauk-U townships.

On the morning of 27 September, a Y-12 transport aircraft and a fighter jet bombed an area near Lay Eain Su village in Ann Township. While there were no human casualties, one cow was injured, the AA reported.

On 25 September, a fighter jet attacked Kyeintali town and Yay Kyaw village in Gwa Township. The attack injured three local civilians and damaged 13 houses in Kyeintali town. In Yay Kyaw village, monastery buildings and 11 houses were destroyed, and two cows were killed, the statement detailed.

On 24 September, a Y-12 aircraft bombed Kyauktaw town and its surrounding areas, injuring seven civilians, including two children under the age of 10, the AA said.

On the night of 23 September, an attack involving one Y-12 plane and two fighter jets struck Phet Kya village in Ponnagyun Township, killing two civilians, destroying 25 homes, and killing a pig and a cow, according to the AA.

On 21 September, a fighter jet bombed Sat Thwar village in Gwa Township, injuring two civilians, destroying two shops and a house, and killing two goats. On the morning of that day, two fighter jets also struck near a school in Taung Hpu village, Pauktaw Township, damaging school buildings, the AA said.

On 20 September, fighter jets launched five attacks near Taung Hpu village and the historic Taung Hpu Pagoda in Pauktaw Township. A woman was killed and another person was injured, while an ordination hall and a monastery were destroyed, the statement described.

On the same day, heavy artillery shelling on Zee Kaing village in Rathedaung Township killed two civilians. Additionally, three fighter jet strikes on Kalar Chaung village in Ponnagyun Township killed one civilian and destroyed six houses, according to the AA.

On 18 September, three fighter jets attacked areas near Thit Ngok To and Ohn Myay villages in Thandwe Township, injuring one civilian.

On 17 September, four fighter jets bombed former military junta bases in Mrauk-U, the AA stated.

Additionally, just past midnight on 26 September, a Y-12 plane attacked Ein Za Na Pu Ra town in Minbya Township, injuring one civilian, the AA reported.