Six civilians killed in junta airstrike on Rakhine village

A junta airstrike hit Kyaung Hpo village in Kyauktaw Township, Rakhine State, around 10:30am on November 28, killing six civilians and injuring ten more, according to local reports. Local residents said the dead included one man and five women, while three men and seven women were injured. Four houses were reduced to rubble in the blast, according to a villager who witnessed the aftermath. “They dropped a bomb, which exploded in the center of Kyaung Hpo village,” the resident said. The attack comes as fighting intensifies across Rakhine, where renewed clashes between the Arakan Army (AA) and junta forces have triggered a surge in air and artillery strikes on civilian areas in recent weeks.The names of the deceased and injured have not been confirmed, but photos obtained by Myanmar Now show that children and young women were among the casualties. On November 26, junta forces based in Rakhine’s Sittwe fired artillery at Nyaung Pin Lel village on Moe Sae Island in Rathedaung Township, injuring a 60-year-old woman.A military analyst based in Rakhine State said that attacking civilians with no ties to the military reflects the actions of a “lowly group, not a legitimate government.” “They have children of their own, yet they are killing the children of civilians,” the analyst, who requested anonymity due to his concern over reprisals. “Both the pilot who carried out the bombing and the coup leader have children. These bombs were not used in clashes with the AA but deliberately targeted soft targets.” The analyst condemned the bombing of civilians as a deliberate act of terror.“They seem to pursue peace by killing people—a pattern repeated through generations of dictatorships.”Following the lull in fighting in northern Shan—largely the result of China-brokered talks between the military and EAOs like TNLA and MNDAA—the junta has redirected its firepower toward western Myanmar, launching a wave of airstrikes on townships under Arakan Army (AA) control. Since late October, Pauktaw, Rathedaung, Ponnagyun, Minbya, Mrauk-U, Kyaukphyu and Kyauktaw have come under sustained attack.According to the AA’s Humanitarian and Development Coordination Office, junta attacks in Rakhine since November 13, 2023, have killed 970 people, injured over 2,000 and resulted in the detention of about 1,000 others as of September 30, 2025. The AA now controls 14 townships across Rakhine, as well as Paletwa in Chin State, and is pushing to take the remaining strongholds of Sittwe, Kyaukphyu and Munaung. Its forces are currently engaged with the military around Kyaukphyu and further south in Ayeyarwady Region, while also fighting near Nat Yae Kan on the Ann–Padan road in Magway. “Carrying out these attacks in today’s internet age will only fuel hatred,” the Rakhine military analyst said. “They will sow the seeds for the downfall of their system.”

Six civilians killed in junta airstrike on Rakhine village

The attack on a village in Kyauktaw also left ten injured and destroyed several homes, residents say

Subscribe for full access

Sent to die: Myanmar’s conscripts caught between a junta’s war and a nation’s collapse

Magway emerges as key front in junta’s strategy to claw back control of western Myanmar

Beyond the iron bars: Into a broader world of confinement

Burned, beaten, and hunted: Myanmar worker survives alleged torture in Thailand

Subscribe for full access

Related Articles

Myanmar Wanbao says almost all villagers refusing to leave Letpadaung mine site now relocated

Myanmar army chief attacks UN envoy Julie Bishop after criticism at UN meeting

‘Nothing left except death’: Myanmar families grieve huge war toll

NUG-affiliated resistance forces clash during raid, killing seven