Junta airstrike kills local woman, injures eight others in Kyauktaw Twsp

By Admin 03 Jan 2024

DMG Newsroom
3 January 2024, Kyauktaw

A junta airstrike on Alekyun Village, part of Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township, at about 3 p.m. on Wednesday killed a woman and injured eight others, including a 3-month-old child.

Two junta jet fighters returning from the Tinma tactical command base dropped bombs on Alekyun Village, causing civilian casualties and destroying five homes, locals said.

“Two junta jet fighters coming from Tinma Village dropped bombs on the village. A mother was killed and her 3-month-old baby boy was injured. Seven others were also wounded in the junta airstrike,” said a resident of Alekyun Village.

The 32-year-old deceased has been identified as Daw Khaing Aye Nu. The injured range in age from 3 months to 32 years, and three are said to be in critical condition.

The Arakan Army (AA) has been attacking the junta’s tactical command base on Mount Taung Shae, near the village of Tinma, part of Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township, since December 25.

The regime has been conducting airstrikes and launching artillery strikes on villages near the Tinma tactical command base since the battle of Mount Taung Shae.

“Junta jet fighters dropped bombs on the villages near Tinma tactical command base on January 2 and 3,” said another resident in Alekyun Village.

Mortar shells fired by regime forces fell and exploded in Myauktaung Village, part of Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township, on January 2, killing a 4-year-old boy and injuring five others.

Among dozens of people displaced by the junta shelling and airstrikes and currently hiding in the jungle, 38-year-old U Maung Nyunt died of a heart attack on December 29.

The military responded to the AA’s offensive with two jet fighters and military regiments in Kyauktaw fired multiple rocket launchers on Tuesday, the Three Brotherhood Alliance said in a statement on January 2.

Civilian casualties continue to rise in Arakan State, inflicted primarily by regime airstrikes, artillery strikes and drone attacks since renewed fighting broke out on November 13.

So far 55 people have been killed and 189 others injured in Arakan State and neighbouring Chin State’s Paletwa Township during the latest hostilities, according to a DMG tally. [Editor’s Note: The death toll does not include residents of Pauktaw, where fierce fighting continues and reliable information remains difficult to ascertain.]