At least six residents were killed and seven others were injured in two airstrikes carried out by the Myanmar Air Force on an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Arakan State’s Ponnagyun Township on Sunday. Ponnagyun, 20 miles (32 km) north of the state capital Sittwe, was seized by the Arakan Army (AA) on March 4, 2024.
Wai Hun Aung, a humanitarian aid worker in AA-controlled territory, told DVB that the death toll could rise once the search-and-rescue operations are completed. He added that the seven injured were in critical condition at the hospital.
Myanmar Air Force fighter jets carried out 20 airstrikes that killed at least two civilians and injured 10 others in Arakan’s Rathedaung Township on Oct. 3, the AA reported. Rathedaung, located 44 miles (70 km) north of Sittwe, was seized by the AA on March 17, 2024.
At least one civilian was killed and eight others were injured during airstrikes in Pauktaw, Ponnagyun and Rathedaung townships on Sept. 30. Pauktaw, located 131 (210 km) east of Sittwe, was seized by the AA on Jan. 24, 2024.
A Ponnagyun resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that her family now lives inside a bomb shelter fearing further airstrikes.
On Sept. 28, at least 50 people were killed and another 58 were injured during airstrikes in Arakan’s Kyauktaw Township, located 60 miles (96 km) north of Sittwe. Kyauktaw was seized by the AA on Feb. 7, 2024.
The 2026 Chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Philippines, expressed deep concern on Saturday over the toll of death and destruction caused by airstrikes in Arakan.
Bangladeshi media reported on Sept. 7 that Japan’s Special Envoy for National Reconciliation in Myanmar, Yohei Sasakawa, wants to arrange a meeting to broker peace between the AA and the regime in Naypyidaw.
Sasakawa, who is also the chairperson of the Nippon Foundation, previously brokered temporary ceasefires between the regime and the AA in December 2020 and November 2022.
The AA has seized control of 14 townships in Arakan, as well as neighboring Chin State’s Paletwa Township, since its most recent offensive was launched on Nov. 13, 2023, which has expanded to the state capital Sittwe and Kyaukphyu Township, as well as neighboring Magway, Bago and Ayeyarwaddy regions since 2024-25.
