Myanmar air force bombs AA-controlled Rakhine State town, killing four civilians

Airstrikes by regime forces in the town of Kyauktaw, Rakhine State, which is currently under the control of the Arakan Army (AA), killed four civilians and injured at least 16 on Thursday, according to local sources. A Kyauktaw resident said junta aircraft dropped two bombs near the No. 2 High School and Pyaing San Shar Gristmill close to the town’s main road. “They carried out the airstrike completely without warning. It was frightening. My hands and feet went cold. Almost as soon as we heard the plane, there was an explosion,” the Kyauktaw resident said. The four people killed in the air raid were identified as the gristmill’s owner Aye Kyaw, 43, from the town’s Pyi Taw Thar Ward; Kyaw Thein Hla, 53, from Paik Thei Ward; Maung Htun Naing, 45, from Ywar Ma Ward; and Thandar Aye, 18, from Ah Pauk Wa village some eight miles down the Kaladan River from the centre of Kyauktaw. Those injured in the attack included the mill owner’s wife Khine San Wai, 42; 11 adults ranging from to 24 to 65; and four children between six and 14. Two were in critical condition, according to the Kyauktaw resident who spoke to Myanmar Now. “The town was in chaos during the airstrike. Now it’s completely quiet,” he said. “People aren't going outside anymore. Those who came to Kyauktaw from elsewhere are leaving as soon as they can. Restaurants and shops are closed. No one dares to go outside… people don't even dare turn on the lights. Everyone is terrified.” A woman from Kyauktaw remarked that the junta, which has lost the majority of Rakhine State’s townships to the AA in the past year, is not fighting lawfully but instead resorting to indiscriminate airstrikes. “Now we hear the explosions even before we hear the planes’ engines. I don't have a heart condition but I’ve been feeling chest pains. Everywhere we see people panicking and in a state of confusion,” she said. The AA has held control of Kyauktaw, including the Myanmar army’s Military Operations Command 9 (MOC-9), since February of this year. In May, an attack by the junta air force in Kyauktaw Township’s Ah Lel Kyun village—around six miles northeast of Kyauktaw on the opposite bank of the Kaladan River—injured four local people and injured five, including a Buddhist monk. A Rakhine State civilian reading the AA’s warning against holding traditional gatherings for the Burmese calendar’s full moon days between October and December (Photo - Myanmar Now) 19 civilians also were killed by bombing on Monday and Tuesday in Rakhine State’s Taungup, Maungdaw, and Pauktaw townships. This week’s bombing followed an announcement by the AA on Monday warning civilians against large outdoor gatherings, which are traditionally held to observe full moon days in the seventh and eighth months of the Burmese lunar calendar falling between October and December. Last month, at least 26 civilians and 57 prisoners of war died in airstrikes on seven towns in Rakhine State as junta airstrikes intensified throughout Myanmar, especially in territories the regime forces had lost to anti-junta armed groups and resistance fighters.

Myanmar air force bombs AA-controlled Rakhine State town, killing four civilians

The attacks came soon after the Arakan Army, conscious of the threat of air raids, warned the public against the outdoor gatherings traditionally held on full moon days between October and December

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