Death toll in junta airstrike on Ponnagyun IDP camp rises to 12

By Admin 14 Nov 2026

DMG Newsroom

14 November 2026, Ponnagyun

Twelve people, including children, were killed and 18 others injured in a nighttime airstrike by the military junta on the Byarla internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Ponnagyun Township, Arakan State, according to local sources.

At around 7:00 PM on November 13, a military jet fighter dropped two 500-pound bombs on the IDP camp, causing mass casualties.

Children were among those killed. Human rights activists said that attacks on shelters where displaced civilians are taking refuge may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.

"This terrorist military has been committing atrocities for a very long time, and they continue to do so. Especially when they are suffering military defeats somewhere, coming and slaughtering innocent civilians like this has become their routine pattern. It appears they calculate that only by killing civilians and causing high civilian death tolls will the Arakan Army come to the peace table, agree to a ceasefire, or surrender," said philanthropist and writer Wai Hun Aung.

The Byarla IDP camp is located alongside the Yangon-Sittwe Road and shelters people displaced from Sittwe and Ponnagyun townships, many of whom are already enduring severe hardships.

The military junta previously bombed the same IDP camp with two jet fighters on October 4, killing six displaced people and injuring 10 others.

While displaced residents were still struggling with the psychological and physical trauma of that earlier attack, the latest bombing has left them terrified and deeply distressed.

On October 5, the military junta also bombed the Pannilar IDP camp in Ponnagyun Township. Following these attacks on displacement sites, residents have been left with little sense of safety and continue to live in fear.

"Right now, we are seeing more frequent bombings of IDP camps. People fled here out of fear of the fighting, only to face death inside the displacement camps. Amid existing livelihood difficulties, when jets come and bomb like this and kill people, the surviving family members face even greater hardships - struggling with basic living necessities as well as major challenges in relocating," said a displaced woman.

As the military junta increasingly carries out airstrikes on civilian-populated areas across Arakan State, local residents face growing threats to their safety and lives.

With attacks on displacement sites continuing, IDPs are forced to live in constant fear while facing severe shortages of food, shelter and healthcare.