Arakan residents suffer severe mental and physical distress amid junta airstrikes

By Admin 07 Oct 2026

DMG Newsroom

7 October 2026, Ponnagyun

Amid escalating armed conflict in Arakan State, local residents are suffering severe mental and physical distress as fear and anxiety mount over continuous military airstrikes.

In recent days, aerial bombardments have caused widespread civilian casualties across Kyauktaw and Ponnagyun townships, forcing residents to live in severe fear and panic.

“Whenever I hear any loud noise, intense fear takes over immediately,” Kyauktaw resident Daw Myint Myint Htay said. “It reaches a state where I cannot sit or stand still, unsure whether to hide here or there. Sometimes, I mistake motorcycle or motor vehicle sounds for warplanes and jump straight into bomb shelters in total panic.”

On September 28, a military airstrike targeting the Indian Market and Kissapanadi Bridge in Kyauktaw Town killed 50 civilians and injured 58 others, according to local sources and rights monitors.

Recently, the military regime has conducted daily aerial attacks on civilian areas, including local markets, schools, monasteries, and displacement camps across Ponnagyun, Thandwe, Werathani, and Rathedaung townships.

The relentless junta airstrikes have left displaced families living in IDP camps in constant dread.

“Displacement camps lack proper bomb shelters, and because the temporary huts are built very close together, fire hazards are a major fear,” a displaced man in Ponnagyun Township said. “Now that junta airstrikes directly target IDP camps, displaced people suffer immense mental and physical distress.”

On October 4, two jet fighters bombarded an IDP camp situated between Thayetcho and Yoengu villages in Ponnagyun Township, killing at least six displaced civilians and injuring several others. Local and regional reports corroborate the six deaths, while casualty figures for the injured vary, with reports citing around 10 wounded.

In another attack, a military airstrike targeting Pannilar IDP Camp and Aungphyupyin Village in Ponnagyun Township killed one woman and injured four others.

Widespread military air attacks across Arakan State have destroyed numerous civilian homes, forcing countless displaced families into total homelessness.

Although civil society organizations in Arakan State previously provided psychosocial support services at displacement camps, aid workers now face severe obstacles due to escalating airstrikes.

“In the past, we organized mobile libraries for children in IDP camps to provide recreation and help heal their mental and physical trauma,” a female psychosocial support worker in Arakan State said. “Now that the military regime directly targets displacement camps, gathering people in groups is extremely dangerous. We ourselves suffer psychological distress due to constant aerial threats.”

Facing severe military losses on the ground, the junta conducts daily aerial bombardments across townships controlled by the Arakan Army.

As the military increasingly targets non-military civilian areas across Arakan State, local residents remain in a state of severe physical and psychological vulnerability.

According to a report published by Nyan Lynn Thit Analytica, Arakan State recorded the highest civilian casualty toll among Myanmar’s states and regions during the period from September 25 to October 1, with 52 civilians killed and 87 injured.

Sagaing Region recorded the second-highest toll, with 15 civilians killed and 37 injured. NLTA also recorded 22 civilian-targeted airstrikes in Arakan State during the period.