Weekly Highlights from Arakan State (8–14 December 2025)

By Admin 16 Dec 2025

In an era when daily news from Arakan is often fragmented and fast-changing, DMG's Weekly Highlights of Arakan brings clarity, depth, and context to the stories that matter most.

Each week, we round up key political, military, social, and humanitarian developments across Arakan State - connecting the dots between events and offering analysis to help audiences see the bigger picture.

This series is designed for readers and viewers seeking a concise yet comprehensive understanding of how ongoing conflict, governance shifts, and community issues continue to shape lives across Arakan.

Junta airstrike on Mrauk-U Hospital causes over 100 civilian casualties

A junta airstrike on Mrauk-U Hospital killed 33 people on the spot and injured 76 others, including patients, caregivers and volunteers, among them children.

A military jet dropped two 500-pound bombs on the hospital at around 9 p.m. on December 10, International Human Rights Day. The bombing destroyed almost the entire hospital complex, including the main building, operating room and orthopedics ward.

Among those killed were medical personnel, caregivers and health workers from Mrauk-U, Kyauktaw, Pauktaw and Ponnagyun townships.

The military regime’s airstrike on Mrauk-U Hospital, which resulted in mass civilian casualties, has been condemned by international organizations, including the United Nations, as well as domestic and foreign civil society groups.

Families of those killed and injured have called on the military regime to take immediate action.

People across the country, including in Arakan State, continue to face attacks by the military regime targeting civilian villages and infrastructure, including hospitals, clinics, schools and religious buildings protected under international humanitarian law.

Junta launches nighttime airstrikes on five Arakan townships

Myanmar’s military regime carried out nighttime aerial bombardments on December 12, targeting areas in five townships controlled by the Arakan Army in Arakan State.

The Arakan Army said a junta jet fighter and a Y-12 aircraft attacked areas from 9 p.m. until midnight, dropping 500-pound bombs, cluster munitions and rockets.

According to reports, the airstrikes hit Khamaungtaw and Taungpauk villages in Ponnagyun Township, Wahbo Village in Sittwe Township, Thaekhon Village in Pauktaw Township, and areas near the No. 31 police battalion in Mrauk-U Township.

The Arakan Army urged residents to remain vigilant as the military regime continues its aerial bombardments across Arakan State.

Grassroots in Sittwe paid K10,000 to attend USDP campaign events

Grassroots residents and Muslims in Sittwe, the Arakan State capital still under the control of Myanmar’s military regime, are reportedly being paid K10,000 each to attend campaign rallies organized by the junta-proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

Sources told DMG that USDP officials in Arakan State have been visiting Muslim villages in and around Sittwe, transporting residents by car and holding campaign speeches in front of the Arakan State government office.

In Sittwe, junta soldiers, police, General Administration Department staff, Immigration Department staff and local officials are also conducting door-to-door checks, including voter-list scrutiny, in every ward.

Arakan State USDP chairman Dr San Shwe has been urging residents to vote for his party, saying the time has come to end the crisis in Arakan State.

The Arakan Front Party (AFP), led by Dr Aye Maung, and the Rakhine Nationalities Party (RNP), led by U Ba Shein, have also been campaigning by car along Sittwe’s main roads and in crowded areas in recent days.

Political parties in Arakan State are continuing to campaign in the three townships under military control, as well as among Arakanese communities in mainland Myanmar.

The junta-controlled Union Election Commission announced on December 6 that elections cannot be held in 71 village-tracts and wards in Sittwe and Kyaukphyu townships.

Junta pushes toward Gwa with naval and air attacks

The Myanmar military regime is attempting to advance on Gwa Township, under the control of the Arakan Army, by launching coordinated attacks from the sea and air.

Jet fighters bombed the Kamchae-U seashore in Gwa Township at around 10 a.m. on December 11. Prior to the airstrike, Myanmar Navy warships sailing along the coast approached the beach and fired more than 30 to 40 artillery rounds, according to local residents.

Three navy warships are reportedly patrolling near Gwa Beach, firing heavy weapons in what residents view as a show of force and an attempt to clear the coastline.

Residents are increasingly worried as the regime steps up shelling from both the air and sea.

Military observers say the regime has intensified ground, naval and air operations this month as it prepares a broader offensive in the southern Arakan townships of Ann, Taungup, Thandwe and Gwa.

The regime is reportedly attempting to reinforce its forces by advancing into Nat Yay Kan in Ngaphe Township; into areas near the military’s No. 16 weapons factory in Padaung Township; and into Bawmi and Magyizin villages in Gwa Township near the Arakan–Ayeyarwady border.

Arakan IDPs living outside camps urgently need aid

Internally displaced persons (IDPs) living outside displacement camps in Arakan State are facing a severe food crisis due to a lack of assistance.

These include IDPs in camps organized by the United League of Arakan, as well as people sheltering in monasteries, schools and rented houses in villages outside the camps. Those living outside camps say they are in greater need of food and winter clothing.

IDPs are surviving in rented houses, self-built tents on vacant land and temporary shelters in monasteries and schools.

They report job shortages, rising prices and serious health challenges. Civil society organizations warn that food shortages are worsening due to the lack of aid in newly displaced areas.

About 600,000 people remain internally displaced in Arakan State and are in need of humanitarian assistance. Since 2023, the military regime has barred international organizations, including the UN, from providing aid in the region.

Over 1,150 civilians killed in Arakan State over two years

A total of 1,152 civilians have been killed and 2,153 injured over the past two years by attacks carried out by Myanmar’s military regime and Muslim armed groups in Arakan State, according to the Humanitarian and Development Coordination Office (HDCO) of the United League of Arakan.

In a statement issued on December 10, the HDCO said that from November 13, 2023, to November 13, 2025, civilian casualties were caused by the military regime and Muslim armed groups, including the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, Rohingya Solidarity Organization, Arakan Rohingya Army and Rohingya Islami Mahaz.

Of those killed, 1,005 were killed by the military regime and 147 by Muslim armed groups. Women accounted for 39.4 percent of the deaths, while children under 10 made up 7 percent. Among the injured, 40 percent were women and 9 percent were children under 10.

The HDCO recorded 2,135 people injured by military regime attacks and 18 injured by Muslim armed groups. A total of 1,034 people were arrested during the period, including 1,004 detained by the military regime and 30 by Muslim armed groups.

The figures do not include airstrikes that took place after November 13 in Kyauktaw, Ponnagyun, Kyaukphyu and Rathedaung townships, or the December 10 airstrike on Mrauk-U Hospital.