Myanmar military shifts airstrikes from Shan to Rakhine, killing civilians

Myanmar’s military carried out airstrikes across Rakhine State and the Mandalay and Sagaing regions on Wednesday and Thursday, killing at least eight civilians—including children—and injuring more than a dozen others, according to local sources. A junta fighter jet carried out three airstrikes on Nyaung Chay Htauk, a village in Katha Township, Sagaing Region, late on Wednesday, killing five civilians. One of the fatalities was a 10-year-old child, according to the local People’s Administration Team. “Most people were already asleep, and those who were awake would have stayed inside their homes, so many were gathered at that time,” the resistance administrator told Myanmar Now. “After the first airstrike, residents thought it was over, which made the second strike even deadlier, resulting in higher numbers of injuries and casualties.” The explosions could be heard from Katha Town, about 15 miles away, with each airstrike carried out a few minutes apart, according to a woman living in Katha. “The explosions were deafening, and the vibrations were so powerful that the ground shook even 10 miles away,” she said. “They used highly destructive bombs.” According to a local resistance administrator, the airstrikes destroyed 14 buildings in the village, including a monastery and the local administration office. Photos released by the Katha resistance showed devastated buildings and craters on the ground caused by the explosions. Nyaung Chay Htauk, located about 26 miles from Tigyaing Town along the Ayeyarwaddy River, has often been targeted by junta naval vessels and airstrikes. While the junta maintains control over Katha and Tigyaing towns, most of the surrounding villages remain under resistance control. On October 28, the junta air force dropped over 30 bombs on Banmauk Town, held by National Unity Government (NUG) forces, igniting several residential homes, according to local sources. On the afternoon of October 30, the junta carried out airstrikes near the entrance of the village of Chin Pyit, bordering Yinmarbin Township, killing one resident, injuring another, and damaging two homes, a Yinmarbin resident told Myanmar Now.“They dropped bombs on the right bank of the North Yamar Dam, on the outskirts of Chin Pyit, about 100 yards away, destroying two homes,” a resistance member in Chin Pyit said. “Fortunately, no one was inside. The person who had come to sell diesel was killed instantly, and another injured person was a village resident, a man in his 60s.” The junta has stepped up its campaign in Sagaing Region, launching near-daily airstrikes throughout October that killed civilians across multiple townships, while resuming ground assaults and deploying surveillance aircraft, helicopters, and spy balloons. Chin Pyit village, which was targeted in the airstrike, is a circuit-level village whose police station and hospital have been non-operational since a few months after the 2021 military coup. On October 29, five junta aircraft launched airstrikes in the vicinity of Singu Town, Mandalay Region, beginning at noon, according to the local news outlet Wetlet Information Network. That same morning, the Ayeyarwaddy Bridge (Yadanar Thein Kha), linking Shwebo Township in Sagaing Region and Singu Township in Mandalay Region, was destroyed by an explosion. The junta then launched airstrikes afterward, though no casualties were reported. Junta warplanes left behind large craters across Nyaung Chay Htauk, a village in Katha Township, Sagaing Region on October 29, 2025. (Photo: Katha Pa Ah Pha) Junta continues to strike Rakhine On October 29 and 30, junta forces carried out artillery and drone strikes in Rakhine State’s Rathedaung and Pauktaw townships, killing two people—including a five-year-old child—and injuring four others. The junta launched a drone attack on Zee Kaing, a village in Rathedaung Township, killing a village administrator, Htun Aye Hlaing, 52. The blasts also injured Phyo Wai Htun, 23, and Maung Maung Htay, 38. Residents remain too afraid to return to their homes and are sheltering in nearby villages as the junta continues airstrikes on Ponnagyun and artillery attacks from Sittwe. Around 2pm on October 29, junta forces based in Sittwe shelled Taung Nyo village in Pauktaw Township, killing five-year-old Zin Cho Ei and injuring her father and another man, both of whom are receiving treatment. Just days earlier, on October 26, a junta airstrike on Ann Town wounded nine-year-old Salai Thein Zaw Than, while another strike the same day killed 14-year-old charity volunteer Htay Aung Hein—also known as Ko Latt—as he helped transport a patient from Kun Taung village in Ponnagyun. According to the Arakan Army’s Humanitarian and Development Coordination Office, junta attacks in Rakhine State have killed 970 people, injured more than 2,000, and led to around 1,000 arrests between November 2023 and September 2025. The Arakan Army (AA) now controls 14 townships in Rakhine State and Paletwa Township in Chin State, and is currently battling junta forces in Sittwe, Kyaukphyu, and parts of Magway, Bago, and Ayeyarwaddy regions.The junta had previously carried out airstrikes in northern Shan State, but reached a ceasefire with the TNLA, effective from midnight on October 29, following Chinese mediation. Consequently, the junta redirected its attacks toward Rakhine State and central Myanmar.Between October 1 and 28, junta airstrikes killed 87 people—including 28 children—according to data from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP). Most of the deaths were reported in Shan State, with 40 fatalities, followed by 21 in Sagaing Region.

Myanmar military shifts airstrikes from Shan to Rakhine, killing civilians

After brokering a new ceasefire with the TNLA, the junta redirected its air campaign toward Rakhine and central Myanmar

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