Myanmar junta attacks kill 12, including infant, across 4 Rakhine townships

Myanmar junta airstrikes in Rakhine State killed 12 civilians and injured 32 others across Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Kyaukphyu, and Pauktaw townships on Sunday, according to the Arakan Army (AA). Early Sunday morning, the regime bombed Ywar Chaung Gyi village near Pauktaw town, injuring three women and two men. Later that afternoon, another junta airstrike in Kyauktaw Township destroyed the Yoe Chaung Bridge between War Taung and Pan Hpe Chaung villages, killing seven passersby and injuring another seven. The Yoe Chaung Bridge is a strategic crossing on the Sittwe–Yangon highway, and its destruction will make travel difficult for the public, said local humanitarian worker and author, Wai Hin Aung. He added that the junta’s attacks showed an intention to bomb places where the general public was gathered. The same afternoon, a medical clinic in Htan Ma Rit Ward, Mrauk-U Township, was also bombed, killing five patients—including a newborn—and injuring nine patients and medical personnel. “Because the maternity ward of the clinic was attacked, it has become very difficult for pregnant women and those about to give birth. It is already difficult to obtain medicine and this causes even more hardship,” Wai Hin Aung said. A woman near the bombed clinic said that two fighter jets circled over Mrauk-U town and bombed it seconds later. Right after the attack, she said that people ran around in panic and shock. “While I was out walking, I heard the sound of an airplane and thought it would start bombing, so I ran towards the drainage ditch. As soon as I reached the drain, the bomb was dropped,” she said. The same evening, two junta fighter jets bombed Sanae Min Pyin village in Kyaukphyu Township, injuring 11 locals. The Yoe Chaung Bridge in Kyauktaw Township was destroyed by the junta airstrike on November 1 (Photo: AA) In Rakhine State, the junta and the AA are currently clashing heavily near Sittwe city, Nga Pyi Kyun in Pauktaw Township, and Kyaukphyu Township. AA spokesperson Khaing Thu Kha said that the AA attacked three junta naval vessels in the Sittwe River on October 26, two of which were sunk, and recently shot down a junta paramotor in Magway Region. Having lost control of 14 out of 17 townships in Rakhine, the junta has escalated airstrikes across the country this year, and has conducted consecutive airstrikes on southern Rakhine during August. According to Myanmar Now's records, from September 1 to October 24, airstrikes in Rathedaung, Kyauktaw, Ponnagyun, Pauktaw, Gwa, Thandwe, and Taungup townships killed 87 people and injured 138 others. On September 28, the regime bombed a populated market in Kyauktaw Township, killing 49 civilians in a single attack. According to data from the Myanmar Defence and Security Institute (MDSI)—a security research organisation formed by defected soldiers—there were 175 airstrikes totaling 650 strike incidents in September, a significant uptake compared to August. The highest concentration of attacks on civilian areas occurred in Rakhine. On October 30, 70 Rakhine civil society organisations issued a statement condemning the bombing of civilian targets in Rakhine State, calling for emergency aid for displaced people and the establishment of a No-Fly Zone. MDSI military research official, Naung Yoe, told Myanmar Now that the junta’s offensive on Nga Pyi Kyun island near Sittwe was an initial offensive, and that the flames of war in Rakhine State are likely to intensify in the upcoming dry season. “In Rakhine, the junta’s primary objectives are to crush the AA and to retake and occupy Rakhine State. Therefore, it is launching an initial offensive in Rakhine. In the dry season, there could be increased full-scale deployments involving land, sea, and air forces,” Naung Yoe said. The junta has not released any statement regarding civilian casualties caused by airstrikes in the Rakhine area. Funerals of those killed in the airstrike on a temporary medical clinic in Htan Ma Rit Ward, Mrauk-U, on Monday (Photo: Nyi Htwe)

Myanmar junta attacks kill 12, including infant, across 4 Rakhine townships

Junta fighter jets bombed villages in four townships across Rakhine State in a single day, including destroying a medical clinic’s maternity ward and killing an infant inside

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