At least 88 civilians have been killed and 157 others injured in 239 airstrikes carried out by the Myanmar Air Force from Aug. 8-23, according to a report released by the National Unity Government (NUG).
The intensified aerial bombardment spanned Sagaing, Magway, Mandalay, Tanintharyi, and Bago regions, as well as Arakan, Shan, Karen, Chin, Mon, and Kachin states, compounding a humanitarian disaster caused by severe monsoon flooding across central and southern Myanmar.
Sagaing toll and the impact of dual catastrophes
Sagaing Region suffered the highest fatality count, where 37 people were killed by airstrikes and another 24 died in floodwaters across 14 townships.
“As most of the flat ground is flooded, people have nowhere to flee when airstrikes occur,” Toe Wai Aung, minister for humanitarian affairs, rehabilitation, and emergency management for the Sagaing Federal Unit Interim Government, told DVB.
Continuous rainfall has inundated 25 townships across Sagaing, Mandalay, Magway, Ayeyarwady, and Karen State, leaving nearly 620,000 residents in need of emergency assistance.
Aid weaponization and appeals to the UN
Addressing the U.N. Security Council, Myanmar’s Permanent Representative Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun reported that regime forces have issued explicit orders to confiscate humanitarian relief destined for flooded communities at military checkpoints.
| Location / Institution | Operational Action & Reported Violations |
| UN Security Council | Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun urged a follow-up resolution imposing a mandatory embargo on arms, weapons, jet fuel, and dual-use technologies to the regime. |
| Sagaing (Yadanabon) Bridge | Regime forces closed the main Irrawaddy River crossing on Aug. 8, turning back relief vehicles traveling from Mandalay and Yangon. |
| Central Myanmar Checkpoints | Soldiers have systematically arrested volunteer relief workers and seized medical supplies intended for flood victims. |
Regime fundraising versus local impact in Ayeyarwady
Pro-regime media claimed that approximately 3.1 billion MMK ($700,000 USD) in aid has been distributed nationwide since late July. At an Aug. 8 fundraising event in Lemyethna Township—located 85 miles (136 km) north of the regional capital Pathein—regime leader Min Aung Hlaing stated that Naypyidaw had raised over 23 billion MMK ($5.2 million USD) in flood relief donations.
However, NUG assessments published on Aug. 21 paint a starkly different picture in Ayeyarwady Region. Severe flooding since July 31 has affected more than 150,000 residents and killed at least seven people across Lemyethna, Yekyi, Hinthada, Kyonpyaw, and Aingthabyu townships, with local aid workers reporting minimal state assistance reaching isolated communities.
