Myanmar Air Strike Kills 12 in Starving Rakhine Town

Border News Agency

At least twelve civilians, including five children, were killed in a late-night air strike by Myanmar’s military on the rebel-held town of Mrauk U in Rakhine state, residents reported Tuesday. The attack comes amid deepening hunger and displacement in the region, where conflict and blockade have left families struggling to survive.

The strike hit around 11pm local time on Monday, flattening homes and burying victims beneath the rubble. Maung Than Chay, who lost three grandchildren in the blast, described the devastation as “the end of my life”. “I have no food, no shelter, no way to cook—everything is gone,” he said.

Mourners gathered on Tuesday to lay out the bodies, some dressed in traditional funeral garments, others clutching photographs of the dead. “We are devastated,” said local resident Khin Khin Win. “The dead are completely lost for nothing.”

Rakhine has been under military blockade since renewed fighting erupted between the junta and the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic armed group resisting the regime’s control. The junta currently holds just three of the state’s 17 townships and is pushing to reclaim territory ahead of a controversial election scheduled to begin in December.

The AA has vowed to obstruct voting in areas under its control. Its spokesman, Khaing Thu Kha, confirmed the death toll and said 20 others were wounded in the strike.

The humanitarian crisis in Rakhine is worsening. The United Nations recently warned of a “dramatic rise in hunger”, with over half of families in central Rakhine unable to meet basic food needs. Aid cuts and hyperinflation have compounded the suffering, particularly in remote areas where access is severely restricted.

Neither the military nor the AA has responded to fresh allegations of civilian harm. Both sides have previously been accused of atrocities in the region, where nearly one in five residents is now displaced.

As grief grips Mrauk U, questions mount over the junta’s tactics and the international community’s response to Myanmar’s spiralling civil war. For many, survival has become a daily struggle in a land where even mourning must be done under the shadow of war.

-2025-08-27