Myanmar junta kills 12, injures 21 in airstrike on Mrauk-U

An airstrike by Myanmar’s military killed 12 civilians, including five children, and injured more than 20 others in the ancient town of Mrauk-U in Rakhine State on Monday, according to local sources. The attack was carried out by a fighter jet that dropped two 500-pound bombs on the town shortly after 11pm, a Mrauk-U resident told Myanmar Now on Tuesday. “The bombs fell while people were sleeping. Around six people from one house were killed. Eight houses were completely destroyed,” the resident said. There were at least three children among the injured, he added. A woman living in the town said that the airstrike had left most residents terrified. “The jet circled for quite a long time. We had to go down into bomb shelters and hide. The bomb explosions were very loud. My knees are still shaking,” she said. In a statement released on Tuesday, the Arakan Army (AA)—which has controlled Mrauk-U, the seat of an ancient Rakhine kingdom, since early 2024—denounced the attack as a war crime. The group said it would report the incident to the relevant international organisations and would continue to “do what must be done” to defeat the regime. Damage from the attack on Mrauk-U on August 25 (Photo: Kyaw Min Lwin) Locals said they believed that Mrauk-U was targeted because of a recent visit by the AA’s leader, Maj-Gen Twan Mrat Naing. Photos of the visit have circulated widely on social media. In March 2024, soon after the AA took control of Mrauk-U, the junta launched an airstrike on a nearby village, killing four children and a woman. Around 10 others were also severely injured. The regime also carried out airstrikes on the town in December 2023, resulting in damage to three Buddhist monasteries, an archaeological museum, and some stone inscriptions, sources reported at the time. The AA launched it offensive to force Myanmar’s military out of Rakhine State in November 2023. Since then it has captured 14 of the state’s 17 townships, as well as Paletwa Township in neighbouring Chin State. Major clashes have been reported at several locations in Kyaukphyu Township—one of the three townships still under junta control—since last week as the military intensifies its efforts to push back against AA forces there. While there has been no recent fighting near the state capital Sittwe, which the regime also controls, military tensions remain high, with at least 10 junta naval vessels active in the Sittwe River, sources said.

Myanmar junta kills 12, injures 21 in airstrike on Mrauk-U

The Arakan Army, which controls the town, called the attack a war crime and vowed to “do what must be done” to defeat the regime

Subscribe for full access

Across a border and into a war: A Karenni leader’s final journey

When going home is impossible: Myanmar nationals find solace in Singapore’s Peninsula Plaza

The Russian general behind Moscow’s decades-long military courtship of Myanmar

Explainer: Who are the companies and cronies backing Myanmar junta leader’s Thailand visit?

Subscribe for full access

Related Articles

Myanmar political prisoner Dein Daung dies after delayed medical treatment

Junta column faces strong resistance en route to Hpapun tactical base

Malaysia to invite Myanmar junta leader over Rohingya repatriation push

Myanmar deports US citizen detained over business dispute