Junta continues airstrikes on Thandwe and Taungup

By Admin 29 Sep 2025

DMG Newsroom

29 September 2025, Thandwe

The military junta has carried out successive airstrikes on Thandwe and Taungup in recent days, resulting in civilian casualties.

At around 11:30 p.m. on September 28, junta aircraft bombed the area near Pade Kaw Village along the Thandwe-Gwa road. No civilian casualties were reported in that incident.

But on September 27, a junta airstrike on Ward No. 4 in Thandwe killed one civilian and injured five others, including children.

Earlier, on September 26, the junta dropped a 500-pound bomb from a jet fighter on Tap Oo Monastery near the No. 5 Operations Command in Kanpyin Ward, Taungup, destroying the monastery building.

Local people said that with the escalation of air raids in Arakan this month, civilian deaths and injuries have been rising, leaving communities living under constant fear and insecurity.

"They bombed Thandwe for two nights in a row. After the first day, everyone was worried and frightened. The next night they came again. They dropped the bombs while most people were asleep. On top of that, navy artillery fire was also heard," said one Thandwe resident.

Analysts note that the junta has been stepping up ground and air offensives in southern Arakan - including Thandwe, Taungup, Gwa, and Ann - in a bid to wrest control back from the Arakan Army (AA) and secure conditions for its planned election.

Since southern Arakan townships are not among the 56 constituencies excluded from voting, observers say the junta is likely to continue its airstrikes and ground assaults in the region.

"Because none of the 56 townships excluded from elections are in southern Arakan, the junta will launch offensives from the Taungup side. Before ground offensives, there will likely be intensified air raids," said CDM Brigadier General Zin Yaw, speaking to DMG.

He added that at present, there is no easy path for the junta to achieve its objectives in Arakan through ground operations.

The AA currently controls 14 of Arakan's 17 townships, while the junta retains only the urban centers of three townships - Sittwe, Kyaukphyu, and Manaung.

Meanwhile, the junta has also been staging offensives along the Bago-, Magway-Arakan, and Ayeyarwady-Arakan frontlines in an effort to break into Arakan State.