Junta airstrikes, attendant casualties rise unabated in Arakan State

By Admin 03 Oct 2024

DMG Newsroom
3 October 2024, Taungup

Civilian casualties continue to rise in conflict-torn Arakan State due to the Myanmar regime's aerial bombardments of residential areas.

Maung Moe Myint, a 14-year-old boy, was injured in a junta air assault on Khaunglaungtu Village in Taungup Township on Wednesday night.

"A junta jet fighter dropped two bombs on the village on the night of October 2, wounding a teenage boy. His condition is considered not life-threatening. All residents are worried about their safety due to the junta airstrikes without there being any fighting in the area," said a local woman.

An internally displaced person (IDP) was killed and another was injured in a junta airstrike on Nyaungchayhtauk Village, part of Arakan State's Thandwe Township, on October 1.

Nyaungchayhtauk Village is located near the Thandwe-Taungup road and hosts hundreds of IDPs from Hsinkhaung and Linthi villages.

Local residents say they feel insecure as the regime, which has suffered a string of military defeats in recent months, continues to attack civilian targets including homes, displacement camps and religious buildings.

"The regime's targeting of civilian shelters is a blatant war crime and a violation of the Geneva Conventions," said a social activist in Arakan State.

The junta's ongoing campaign of aerial assaults in Arakan State follows its designation of members of the Brotherhood Alliance - consisting of the Arakkha Army (AA), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) - as terrorist organisations on September 2.

At least 85 civilian casualties were reported last month in Arakan State due to junta airstrikes, according to a DMG tally.