Myanmar junta continues airstrikes on Union Day, killing seven in Rakhine State

Junta airstrikes killed at least seven people, including a three-month-old infant, in Rakhine State on Thursday, as the leader of Myanmar’s military junta marked the country’s 79th Union Day in Naypyitaw. The attacks took place shortly after 9pm and targeted the towns of Kyauktaw and Mrauk-U, both under the control of the Arakan Army (AA). At least 16 others were injured, according to local sources. In Kyauktaw, a bomb blast in the town’s Paik Thi Ward killed two men, identified as Nyi Chay, 31, and San Win, 23, and two women—Aye Nu, 53, and Ma Saw Hla, 61—and left nine others injured. At the same time, a junta warplane struck the Vesali Hotel in Mrauk-U, killing Aung Lin Soe, his wife Thandar Soe—displaced residents of Sittwe working as caretakers at the hotel—and their three-month-old son, Aung Lin Hein, while injuring seven others, according to Wai Hin Aung, a writer who is involved in charity work in Rakhine State. “It’s obvious they have no regard for Union Day. It sends a clear message that even on Union Day, ethnic Rakhine people can still be killed,” he said, speaking to Myanmar Now on Friday. “Kyauktaw and Mrauk-U have seen no clashes; the areas are calm and peaceful. It’s unimaginable that they would target such places with airstrikes,” he added. Having lost control of much of Rakhine State, the junta army has been conducting frequent airstrikes on AA–held areas, resulting in heavy civilian casualties. Aftermath of the Mrauk-U airstrikes, as seen the morning of February 13 (Photo: Supplied) “These acts go beyond inhumanity; they are committed by people who lack any sense of humanity,” said Pyae Phyo Naing, chair of the Ponnagyun Youths Association, adding that targeting civilians instead of engaging in legitimate combat constitutes a war crime. Meanwhile, the junta celebrated the country’s 79th Union Day in Naypyitaw with a ceremony attended by coup regime leader Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing and his wife, with similar events taking place across junta-controlled areas nationwide. Union Day is a public holiday marking the signing of the Panglong Agreement, which paved the way to independence from British colonial rule by uniting several of Myanmar’s major ethnic groups. Airstrikes were also reported in Sagaing Region and Kachin State on Thursday. On January 20, the junta carried out airstrikes on an AA-run detention centre in Kyauktaw Township, killing 21 prisoners of war and their family members and injuring 30 others. Similarly, on December 10 last year, junta airstrikes hit Mrauk-U Town General Hospital, killing 33 people, including patients, their caregivers, and hospital staff, and injuring 77 others. The attack occurred on International Human Rights Day. In the two years from November 13, 2023, when the AA began its offensive to take control of Rakhine State, junta attacks killed a total of 1,152 Rakhine civilians and injured 2,153, according to an AA statement released in November of last year. Another 1,034 have been detained, the statement said. Currently, the AA is targeting junta camps in Kyaukphyu and Sittwe townships, along with regime outposts in parts of Ayeyarwady, Magway, Bago, and Sagaing regions bordering Rakhine. The AA controls 14 of Rakhine State’s 17 townships, along with Paletwa Township in Chin State.

Myanmar junta continues airstrikes on Union Day, killing seven in Rakhine State

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