A deadly airstrike by Myanmar’s military junta killed 28 people, including nine children, and injured 25 others at a temporary detention area in western Rakhine State, according to the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic armed group, on Sunday.
The incident occurred on Saturday around 4:45 PM local time (10:15 GMT) in Mrauk-U Township, where the AA had been holding family members of junta soldiers. The AA reported on its Telegram channel that it had been planning to release the detainees before the attack, which destroyed the site.
Photos shared by the AA showed rows of bodies laid out in a grassy area covered in white sheets, with grieving individuals nearby. Among the dead were nine children, including a two-year-old boy, and the rest were women, according to a list published by the AA.
The Daily Star reported that the detainees, all family members of Myanmar soldiers, had been arrested during recent fighting. The military junta has not commented on the strike, and AFP’s attempts to contact them were unanswered.
Background on the Rakhine Conflict
Rakhine State, home to the ethnic Rakhine community and the Rohingya minority, has been a hotspot of conflict for years. The Arakan Army (AA), which has grown significantly in strength, has been fighting the military for control over the region, seizing large swaths of territory in the past year. This has effectively cut off the state capital, Sittwe, from government control.
The conflict in Rakhine is just one of many fronts in Myanmar’s ongoing civil war, which erupted after the military’s 2021 coup ousted the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The coup sparked a widespread armed resistance, leading to the emergence of youth-led “People’s Defence Forces” (PDFs) and intensified activity from long-established ethnic minority armed groups like the AA.
The Junta’s Widespread Tactics
Myanmar’s military has been accused of indiscriminate airstrikes and artillery shelling targeting civilians in its attempts to suppress opposition. It remains unclear whether Saturday’s strike on the Mrauk-U detention area was a deliberate attack or a miscalculation by the junta.
The UN has reported that more than 3.5 million people have been displaced across Myanmar, with 1.5 million displaced in the past year alone. Rakhine is among the hardest-hit regions, with commerce and agricultural production heavily disrupted. In November, the UN Development Programme warned that the region was on the brink of famine.
International Implications
The situation in Myanmar has drawn widespread condemnation, but international action remains limited. Ethnic armed groups like the AA continue to control significant territory, highlighting the junta’s inability to consolidate power and the worsening humanitarian crisis.
This attack is a grim reminder of the escalating violence and its devastating toll on civilian lives, particularly in ethnic minority regions like Rakhine.
