The air strike ignited a fire that destroyed over 500 homes in the village, leaving residents to navigate through charred ruins; military's use of air strikes against civilian areas has raised alarms about the deteriorating humanitarian situation.
A Myanmar junta air strike killed at least 40 persons and injured over 20 persons in a village in western Rakhine state, according to reports from the Arakan Army (AA) and local rescue workers on Thursday.
The bombing occurred around 1.20 p.m. on Wednesday, during fierce fighting between the AA and the military for control of Rakhine state, where the AA has seized significant territory in the past year, effectively isolating the capital, Sittwe.
The Rakhine conflict is part of the broader chaos that has engulfed Myanmar since the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government in a coup in 2021, sparking widespread armed uprisings across the country.
AA spokesperson Khaing Thu Kha reported that a military jet bombed the village, igniting a fire that destroyed over 500 houses. He said, “According to initial reports, 40 innocent civilians were killed and 20 were wounded.”
However, a member of a local rescue group assisting in the area reported that 41 people were killed and 52 injured. The rescue worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity for safety reasons, highlighted the dire situation: “At the moment, we don’t even have enough betadine and methylated spirit to treat them as transportation is hard.”
Photos of the aftermath showed dazed residents walking through charred ruins, with debris scattered across the ground. The junta has faced accusations of using air strikes against civilian communities amid ongoing resistance from various armed groups.
The UN Development Programme warned that Rakhine is heading toward famine due to ongoing fighting disrupting commerce and agriculture. The UN recently reported over 3.5 million people displaced by conflict in Myanmar, with nearly 20 million likely needing humanitarian aid in 2025 as conditions continue to deteriorate.
The outlook for the coming year was “grim”, the UN humanitarian agency OCHA said, with 19.9 million people — more than a third of the population — likely to need aid.
