Air and naval strikes kill at least 15 civilians in Kyaukphyu

Myanmar’s military has escalated air and naval attacks in Kyaukphyu Township in Rakhine State over the last two days, killing at least 15 civilians, including infants, local sources said. The victims also included women and elderly residents, and more than 30 others were wounded when junta aircraft and naval vessels shelled and bombed areas of Kyaukphyu, Ramree, Mrauk-U and Thandwe. As clashes intensified between the Arakan Army (AA) and the junta on February 19, a junta aircraft dropped three bombs on Thayet Cho village in Ramree Township at about 10:30 am, killing two men and injuring two others, local residents said.One victim was identified as 31-year-old Tun Naing Win, while the names of the wounded were still being confirmed. "One or two jet fighters came and bombed the area,” a local Ramree resident told Myanmar now. “I don’t know why they bomb places where civilians live like this.” A resident of Ramree said the attacks appeared to target civilians, alleging the military was retaliating after sustaining heavy losses in clashes with the AA in nearby Kyaukphyu Township. Ramree Township, located south of Kyaukphyu Township, which houses deep-sea port and Special Economic Zone projects, is the starting point of the China-Myanmar natural gas pipeline. It is understood that renewed fighting in the Kyaukphyu region has been ongoing since mid-February of last year, and air and naval attacks have escalated in recent months.Ramree and Kyaukphyu have endured some of the deadliest bombardments in southern Rakhine State, including a strike on a crowded market area in Kyaukphyu that killed dozens of civilians and heavy shelling in Ramree that left entire villages destroyed. Rights groups say repeated air and naval attacks over the past year have resulted in mass casualties and widespread displacement across both townships.On Tuesday, two women were killed when a junta aircraft bombed Mi Kyaung Yay Thauk village in Kyaukphyu Township. Days earlier, naval shelling also turned deadly. Displaced residents who were forced to relocate in November 2025 as fighting intensified in Kyaukphyu Township, Rakhine State. (Photo: Triple-T) Two people were killed and eight injured on February 15 when a military vessel fired on Nga Oke and Wa Myaung villages, and an 80-year-old woman was killed the previous day when five shells struck Kyauk Pyauk village, local news reported. On February 13, the AA warned that the military had stepped up its air campaign, carrying out more frequent strikes using multiple fighter jets and reconnaissance aircraft at the same time. "We further notify the general public to be more vigilant of the air and naval dangers of the fascist terrorist military commission,” the AA said in a statement.Local reports indicate that an airstrike on Mrauk-U and Kyauktaw townships on February 12 killed seven people and injured 16, including a three-month-old baby and its parents. Earlier attacks also left two men wounded in Thandwe on February 8, while a drone strike killed one person and injured two others in Kyaukphyu Township on February 2.“People are dying and getting injured every day,” a Ramree resident said. “Whenever we hear the sound of a plane, we always have to get into the bomb shelters and hide.”

Air and naval strikes kill at least 15 civilians in Kyaukphyu

Infants, women and elderly among the dead as Myanmar military escalates bombardment across southern Rakhine State

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