Eight civilians killed in Rakhine air raid

Eight civilians, including a toddler, were killed when regime fighter jets bombed residential areas of Kyauktaw in Rakhine State on Wednesday afternoon, according to local reports. Seventeen others were injured in the half‑hour assault.

Witnesses said three warplanes strafed the town, which is under the control of the Arakan Army (AA). “The warplanes bombed the town one after another. It was a terrifying moment,” one resident told The Irrawaddy. Footage circulating online shows jets repeatedly dropping bombs as homes, warehouses and a market were destroyed.

The attack comes as the AA advances towards the state capital Sittwe and the coastal hub of Kyaukphyu, where major Chinese investment projects are based. Regime leader Min Aung Hlaing was in Beijing this week, where President Xi Jinping pressed him to push ahead with Chinese‑financed megaprojects, including the Kyaukphyu deep‑sea port.

Yet the immediate strategic value of bombing Kyauktaw appears unclear. Local writer and charity leader Wai Hun Aung described the strikes as deliberate killings of civilians. “When the regime suffers battlefield losses elsewhere in the state, it kills civilians,” he said.

The Kyauktaw raid followed a series of attacks across Rakhine. On Sunday, regime naval boats and aircraft struck villages in Kyaukphyu Township, destroying houses and a monastery. The next day, jets dropped three 500‑lb bombs on a village in Gwa Township, killing two people and injuring eight, including children.

Since launching a major offensive in November 2023, the AA has seized 14 of Rakhine’s 17 townships and Paletwa in neighbouring Chin State. Its forces have also expanded operations into Ayeyarwady, Magwe and Bago regions, working alongside allied resistance groups.

The latest airstrikes highlight the regime’s reliance on aerial and naval power as it struggles to contain the AA’s sweeping gains, while civilians continue to bear the brunt of the conflict.

-2026-06-19