The Myanmar Air Force carried out dozens of airstrikes on Arakan Army (AA)-controlled Mrauk-U Township on Tuesday, forcing residents to navigate heavy bombardment amid severe monsoon flooding that has rendered underground bomb shelters unusable.
Mrauk-U, located 88 miles (141 km) northeast of the Arakan State capital Sittwe, was liberated by the AA in February 2024. The latest wave of aerial attacks targeted the former Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 540 outpost, which was captured by resistance forces in January 2024 and is reportedly being used to detain regime prisoners of war (POWs).
Monsoon flooding compounds danger for civilians
The strikes coincided with torrential rains across northern Arakan State, leaving local populations without safe refuge during the aerial bombardment.
“Our bomb shelters are submerged in water due to the continuous rain. We have nowhere to hide,” Khin Maung San, a Mrauk-U resident, told DVB. While no casualties were immediately reported in Mrauk-U, the air campaign follows heavy bombardment in southern Arakan.
On Aug. 3, four regime fighter jets conducted nearly 60 airstrikes against Ngapali in Thandwe Township—seized by the AA in July 2024—injuring two civilians and destroying approximately 20 resort bungalows, causing an estimated 300 million MMK ($69,700 USD) in property damage.
Escalation under General Ye Win’s command
According to a conflict monitoring report published on July 27 by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) Project, military operations against civilian areas have intensified following the appointment of a new commander-in-chief in Naypyidaw on March 30.
ACLED reported that since Commander-in-Chief Ye Win took the reigns from former Senior General, and regime leader, Min Aung Hlaing in April the military has significantly escalated its aerial bombing campaign across non-state-controlled territories.
“Since the ruling junta in Myanmar reconfigured its military command structure in March, civilians have been subject to the military’s worsening repression and intensified aerial bombing campaign,” ACLED noted.
Casualty toll and regional offensive expansion
Data compiled by DVB indicates that regime aerial operations—including fighter jet airstrikes, armed drones, motorized paramotors, and gyrocopters—have killed at least 230 people and injured 277 others across Arakan State between January and July.
Separately, the AA’s Humanitarian and Development Coordination Office (HDCO) recorded 83 civilian deaths and 187 injuries from regime ground and air attacks from January through June.
Over the past year, AA forces have expanded their military operations beyond Arakan into neighboring Ayeyarwady, Bago, and Magway regions.
