Two days, dozens of civilian casualties in Arakan State

By Admin 15 May 2024

DMG Newsroom
15 May 2024, Sittwe

As many as 40 civilian casualties were reported by junta shellings and airstrikes in Arakan State in two days, according to a DMG tally.

At least 20 people, including healthcare workers and patients, were injured after the regime carried out an airstrike on a rural hospital in Welgyidaunt Village, part of Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township, on Wednesday morning, the Arakkha Army (AA) said in a statement.

A junta airstrike on Kinchaung Village, part of Arakan State’s Maungdaw Township, where fighting between the military and the AA is escalating, killed four people and wounded four others on Tuesday afternoon. A total of 10 people — nine ethnic Kaman people and an Arakanese person — were killed in a junta artillery strike on Linthi Village, part of Arakan State’s Thandwe Township, on Tuesday night.

A resident of Thandwe said that the military regime is targeting civilians unrelated to the military and in doing so committing war crimes.

“Thandwe Township has never seen such a mass death. People don’t [historically] have experience of fighting, so they don’t worry much. The people are scared and worried when they actually experience the fighting. The military regime is committing such war crimes throughout the country, so it is important for local residents not to be complacent,” the Thandwe resident added.

The regime has been conducting airstrikes and firing mortar shells into villages in Thandwe Township near where fighting between the military and AA is taking place, locals said.

Civilian deaths and injuries are on the rise due to the military regime’s airstrikes on civilian villages in Maungdaw Township, and houses in villages have been burned to the ground.

Civilian casualties continue to rise in Kyauktaw Township, which is held by the AA, due to the junta’s air assaults there.

A resident of Kyauktaw said that he wants the international community to take effective action against the regime’s war crimes as it targets hospitals, residential buildings and civilians in Arakan State.

“The regime often conducts airstrikes in Kyauktaw, so the people’s safety is still minimal. The regime is attacking hospitals, religious buildings and places of assembly, causing many casualties. I want the international community to take effective action against the regime’s war crimes targeting civilians,” he added.

A junta air attack on Minbya town in Arakan State reportedly wounded one civilian on May 15.

A total of 179 civilians were killed and 486 were injured between November 13 of last year and March 21, according to the AA’s Humanitarian and Development Cooperation Office.