Junta airstrike on Mrauk-U kills six, injures several others

By Admin 10 Aug 2024

DMG Newsroom
10 August 2024, Mrauk-U

Six people including a child were killed and 10 others were injured in a junta airstrike on Mrauk-U, which is held by the Arakkha Army (AA), at around 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, according to local residents.

Civilian casualties were reported after a bomb dropped by a junta jet fighter exploded at a location between Mrauk-U Hotel and Nawarat Hotel in Mrauk-U’s Alezay Ward.

“A bomb dropped by a junta jet fighter fell and exploded on a road, killing a three-wheeled motorbike driver and five locals. I couldn’t hear the plane because of the noise from the pedestrians. At least 10 people were also wounded in the regime airstrike,” said a resident of Mrauk-U.

The deceased have been identified as U Maung Mya Than, 59, Ko Htein Win Tun, 25, and Ma Soe Soe Naing, 25, from Mrauk-U and U Aung Kyaw Hsan, 42, Maung Khaing Kyaw Hsan, 8, and another man from Minbya Township.

All of those injured are being medically treated, with two people’s injuries considered life-threatening.

“The bomb had a very strong explosion. People were killed and injured en masse in one place. … On the main road, the place where the bomb fell became a big crater. I don’t know what kind of bomb it was,” said a local woman in Mrauk-U.

A junta jet fighter dropped bombs at a location near the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) office under the Health Ministry in Okphokan Village twice on August 6, but no casualties were reported.

A 13-year-old boy was injured in a junta airstrike on a location between Pauktawpyin and Waithali villages in Mrauk-U Township on June 4.

“The regime’s actions have gone too far. As the regime targets civilians who are not military targets, the backlash will be a nightmare for military leaders,” said a social activist.

The AA seized control of Mrauk-U on February 9 and locals live in fear due to the regime’s airstrikes since then.

The Three Brotherhood Alliance, of which the AA is a part, has condemned the regime’s war crimes in attacking non-combat areas, and has called on China to intervene to help stop such actions.