An airstrike by Myanmar’s army on a village under the control of an armed ethnic minority group has led to the deaths of approximately 40 people and injuries to at least 20 others. The attack took place on Wednesday in Kyauk Ni Maw village on Ramree island, an area controlled by the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group in western Rakhine state. In addition to the tragic loss of life, hundreds of houses were destroyed in a fire triggered by the bombing, officials from the Arakan Army and a local charity reported on Thursday.
The military has yet to announce any attack in the area, and the situation remains difficult to independently confirm due to the lack of access to the region. Internet and mobile phone services in the area have been mostly cut off, making it challenging to verify the extent of the damage.
Khaing Thukha, a spokesperson for the Arakan Army, told The Associated Press that the bombing occurred on Wednesday afternoon when a jet fighter attacked the village, killing 40 civilians and injuring more than 20 others. “All the dead were civilians. Among the dead and injured are women and children,” Thukha stated. In addition to the human toll, a fire that started as a result of the airstrike spread through the village, destroying more than 500 houses, Thukha added.
The reasons for targeting the village remain unclear. The leader of a local charity, which has been helping the village’s residents, and independent media also reported the airstrike and the casualties.
Myanmar has been engulfed in conflict since the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. Following the military’s violent crackdown on peaceful protests, many opponents of military rule took up arms, and large parts of the country are now embroiled in violence.
The military government has escalated airstrikes over the past three years against armed pro-democracy groups, collectively known as the People’s Defense Force, and ethnic armed groups seeking greater autonomy. These two groups often conduct joint operations against the army.
Ramree island, where Kyauk Ni Maw is located, was captured by the Arakan Army in March last year. The Arakan Army, the well-trained and well-armed military wing of the Rakhine ethnic minority movement, has long sought autonomy from Myanmar’s central government. The group is also part of an alliance of ethnic armed groups that has recently made significant territorial gains, including in Myanmar’s northeast along the border with China.
Since November 2023, the Arakan Army has intensified its offensive in Rakhine, gaining control of 14 of the 17 townships in the state. The group has also taken control of a strategically important regional army headquarters. Currently, only the state’s capital, Sittwe, and two townships near Ramree remain under military government control.
A leader of the charity group helping the residents of Kyauk Ni Maw village, who was away at the time of the airstrike, confirmed the death toll of at least 41 people and reported 50 others injured. The leader spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns. He mentioned that members of his charity group in the village were struggling with a shortage of medical supplies to treat the injured.
Rakhine-based news outlets, including Arakan Princess Media, also reported the attack and posted photos showing locals trying to extinguish fires at their homes.
Rakhine, formerly known as Arakan, was the site of a brutal army counterinsurgency operation in 2017, which led to the forced displacement of around 740,000 Rohingya Muslims, who fled to neighboring Bangladesh. The region has been a hotspot for ethnic and political tensions, with military operations and ethnic conflicts continuing to drive displacement and suffering for many in the region.
As the violence intensifies, local media reports and charity groups continue to provide assistance to those affected, but the situation remains dire.
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