The Arakan Army (AA) announced yesterday that the death toll from an airstrike on Kyauk Gyi Village in Thandwe Township, Arakan (Rakhine) State, has risen to 14, while 11 other civilians were injured.
According to the AA, the Myanmar military carried out the airstrike on Kyauk Gyi Village at around 1:00 p.m. on August 10.
The AA stated that among the 14 people killed were two children aged 6 and 9. The injured included 11 civilians, among them four elderly men and one elderly woman.
The attack also damaged and destroyed 21 structures in the village, including a Buddhist religious hall (Dhamma Hall) and 20 residential houses, according to the AA.
Thandwe Township, located in southern Rakhine State, has been an area of continuing military tension since fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army intensified across Rakhine State.
The AA launched a major offensive against the Myanmar military in northern Rakhine in late 2023, and fighting subsequently spread to several other parts of the state. The group has since gained control of large areas of Rakhine State, while the Myanmar military has increasingly relied on airstrikes and other forms of aerial attacks against areas held or contested by the AA.
Thandwe and surrounding areas have also experienced renewed fighting and military activity as the conflict has expanded into southern Rakhine. The Myanmar military has conducted airstrikes in areas where the AA has been active, while the AA has continued military operations against junta positions.
Airstrikes have become a major feature of the conflict in Rakhine State, with civilian areas, residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure repeatedly reported as being damaged. Local authorities and the AA have frequently reported civilian casualties following such attacks, although independent verification of individual incidents has often been difficult because of restrictions on access to conflict-affected areas.
The latest attack on Kyauk Gyi Village comes amid continued fighting between the Myanmar military and the AA in and around Rakhine State. The reported deaths of 14 civilians, including two children, and the destruction of residential and religious buildings have further raised concerns over the impact of the conflict on civilians in the region.
Photo: AA Info Desk
