Child casualties rise in Arakan State due to regime airstrikes

By Admin 14 Oct 2024

DMG Newsroom
14 October 2024, Sittwe

Fatalities of children under the age of 18 due to regime air attacks are on the rise in Arakan State, where the fighting is fierce in multiple townships. Four children have been killed and nine others were injured so far this month.

Across all age groups, at least 31 civilians have been killed and 53 others were injured in junta air raids since October 1, according to a DMG tally.

Among the four children killed so far this month, the deceased were three from Taungup Township and one from Kyauktaw Township. The injured are two each from Taungup and Maungdaw townships, and five from Kyauktaw.

Regime airstrikes have increasingly targeted civilian towns and villages, causing the deaths and bodily harm of children as well as psychological trauma and physical destruction.

"Even if my child sleeps at night, he wakes up when he hears the sound of the jet fighters. My child is scared of hearing loud noises. On the day of the junta airstrike on Kyauktaw, my child was so scared that he couldn't even speak," said the mother of a child in Kyauktaw.

Four civilians were reportedly killed and 24 others were injured in a junta air attack on Kyauktaw Town, which is held by the Arakkha Army (AA), on October 10.

"If possible, I don't want my children to be in any danger. I want all the people to be safe. I'm not afraid of death, but I'm just worried about my child's safety," said a mother in Sittwe.

Children's rights advocates say the most vulnerable are being deprived of their basic human rights such as mental and physical security, and in the worst of cases the right to life.

These advocates note that in addition to physical injuries to children, there is a need to treat the trauma induced by the regime's ongoing campaign of aerial terror.

"In order to heal children's trauma, we first need to acknowledge their emotions. We need to listen to the children's voices without criticising them," said an official from a group that provides psychological treatment for children.