Junta airstrikes kill 209 civilians in Arakan over 10 months: DMG tally

By Admin 03 Nov 2026

DMG Newsroom

3 November 2026, Kyauktaw

Civilian casualties in Arakan State continue to rise as the military junta intensifies aerial bombardments of towns and villages under the control of the Arakan Army.

A total of 209 civilians were killed and 421 others injured in junta airstrikes across Arakan State during the 10-month period from January to October 2026, according to data compiled by DMG.

Of those killed, 90 were women, 105 were men and the genders of 14 others could not be immediately confirmed. Among the injured were 169 women, 201 men and 51 people whose genders could not be confirmed.

As it faces persistent setbacks on active battlefronts, the military regime has repeatedly carried out airstrikes on civilian settlements, busy markets, schools, monasteries, hospitals and displacement camps, resulting in mounting civilian casualties.

Between September 30 and October 5, junta airstrikes on villages and displacement camps across Ponnagyun Township killed eight civilians and injured 17 others.

Earlier, on September 28, a junta airstrike hit the India Market and the nearby Kisspanadi Bridge area in Kyauktaw, killing 50 civilians and injuring 57 others.

"We did nothing to the military junta," Daw Gu Shubi, a resident of Naypukhan Village in Kyauktaw Township, told DMG. "We strongly oppose these airstrikes targeted against innocent civilians."

The bombing of Kyauktaw's India Market ranks among the deadliest single airstrikes against civilians in Arakan State.

Ground fighting between regime forces and the Arakan Army continues across Sittwe, Kyaukphyu, Pauktaw and Ponnagyun townships, while civilian casualties continue to rise amid repeated airstrikes.

Local residents across Arakan State face daily aerial attacks and live under extreme physical and psychological distress.

"When they drop bombs from jet fighters, everyone gets killed or injured," U Maung Maung Tin, a Kyauktaw resident, told DMG. "We are completely outraged by these actions. We urge the United Nations and ASEAN nations to take effective and decisive action against the military council."

International humanitarian law prohibits parties to an armed conflict from deliberately targeting civilians and civilian objects. Deliberate attacks against civilians may constitute war crimes.

Despite these legal protections, the military junta continues to carry out airstrikes and arbitrary detentions against civilians across the country, with those responsible rarely held accountable.