Junta airstrike hits Arakan Army detention site in Rakhine

A Myanmar military airstrike hit a detention site run by the Arakan Army in Rakhine State on Monday evening, killing and wounding prisoners of war and members of their families, the ethnic armed group said. The AA told Myanmar Now that the bombing took place around 7:24pm and 7:28pm near the village of Chaungtu, west of the border between Kyauktaw and Ponnagyun townships. Sources said two fighter jets reportedly dropped multiple bombs in successive passes on the site. A Kyauktaw resident said the airstrike struck a site holding detained junta soldiers and their family members, killing some and wounding others, including relatives from Light Infantry Battalion 539, which surrendered in January 2024 after coming under resistance attack near the Yangon–Sittwe highway. Residents in Kyauktaw told Myanmar Now the latest airstrike left many too fearful to sleep, adding that previous junta attacks on Arakan Army–run detention sites in Rakhine State have heightened anxiety in the area.Rakhine State has seen years of conflict since the coup, as the Arakan Army has seized large swathes of territory from junta forces over the past year, leaving the military increasingly reliant on airstrikes. Despite losing control of much of the state’s rural areas and key transport routes, the junta has continued aerial attacks on AA-held zones, including detention sites and civilian areas.In September last year, an airstrike on a detention site on Alay Pharonka Island, south of Pauktaw Town, killed at least 17 people, including two teenagers and seven prisoners of war, the AA said. The Arakan Army currently controls 14 of Rakhine State’s 17 townships, according to the group. In recent months, it has overrun numerous military bases and headquarters, capturing senior officers and detaining large numbers of junta troops and their family members.

Junta airstrike hits Arakan Army detention site in Rakhine

An evening airstrike on an Arakan Army-run detention site in Kyauktaw Township has left prisoners of war and their family members dead and wounded, according to the group

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