Twenty-four civilians were killed and at least eight others were injured by airstrikes carried out by the Myanmar Air Force on Sapyin village of Yekyi Township on Thursday. Yekyi is located 120 miles (190 km) west of the Ayeyarwady Region capital Pathein.
“In the morning, they dropped 500-pound [226 kg] bombs using two jet fighters,” a Yekyi resident told DVB. “A total of two times.” Four children, three women, and 17 men were killed, and 17 homes were also destroyed in Sapyin village, residents told DVB.
It was the first time regime airstrikes have been carried out on Yekyi, which lies 25 miles (40 km) east of Gwa, the nearest town in southern Arakan State, which was seized by the Arakan Army (AA) in December 2024. Since then, the AA has expanded its offensive from Arakan into Ayeyarwady Region.
Fighting between regime forces and the AA, along with its allied People’s Defence Force (PDF), has been ongoing in Yekyi and neighbouring Laymyethna townships since August.
Laymyethna Township lies 21 miles (38 km) northeast of Yekyi, and is reportedly under partial AA and PDF control.
The AA has seized control of 14 out of 17 townships in Arakan, as well as Paletwa Township in southern Chinland, since it launched its offensive against regime forces in November 2023.
It expanded its offensive into neighbouring Ayeyarwady, Bago, and Magway regions in January.
