In a horrifying attack, at least 28 people, including numerous children, were killed when a Myanmar junta jet bombed a temporary detention area in Rakhine state’s Mrauk-U Township on Saturday, according to a report from the ethnic Arakan Army (AA). The grim incident marks the latest civilian casualties in the escalating conflict between Myanmar’s military, which seized power in a 2021 coup, and armed resistance groups across the country.
Relatives of Soldiers Among Victims
The AA, which is battling the junta for control of Rakhine state, said in a Telegram post that those killed and wounded in the 4:45 pm airstrike were family members of Myanmar army soldiers who had been detained during recent fighting. Tragically, the AA was preparing a plan to release them when the bombing occurred.
Photos from the scene showed a devastating row of bodies, including those of very young children, laid out and covered in white sheets as grieving people looked on. The AA reported that nine kids were among the dead, with the youngest victim only two years old.
Junta’s Deadly Airstrikes
As Myanmar’s junta struggles to contain widespread armed resistance to its rule, it has repeatedly been accused of targeting civilians with airstrikes and artillery. It remains unclear if the strike on the Mrauk-U detention area was a deliberate attack on perceived enemy families or a miscalculated hit on what the military thought was an AA site.
Rakhine’s Humanitarian Crisis
The incident underscores the mounting human toll of the conflict in Rakhine, one of several regions where the army is battling ethnic armed organizations that control significant territory. In November, the UN warned that the state was on the brink of famine amid fighting that has squeezed agriculture and trade.
More than 3.5 million people have now been displaced by Myanmar’s post-coup conflicts, an increase of 1.5 million from last year, according to UN data.
Saturday’s deadly airstrike adds to the growing number of civilian lives lost, including those of the most vulnerable caught between warring factions – a tragic outcome of Myanmar’s ongoing instability and violence under junta rule. As the crisis deepens with no resolution in sight, more innocent families are likely to suffer the consequences.
