UN rights chief raises international law concerns over deadly Kyauktaw airstrike

30 Sep 2026

DMG Newsroom

30 September 2026, Yangon

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has raised serious concerns over compliance with international humanitarian law following the Myanmar military’s deadly September 28 airstrike on a crowded market area in Kyauktaw, where at least 50 civilians were killed and 58 others injured.

In a September 29 statement, Türk deplored the attack, which struck the busy India Market and Kissapanadi Bridge area around midday. Those killed included vendors, shoppers, transport workers and other civilians, among them women and children.

The United League of Arakan (ULA) initially reported 49 civilians killed and 58 injured. DMG subsequently reported that the death toll had risen to 50 after one of the critically injured victims died while receiving medical treatment. Twenty-one of those initially listed in critical condition remained in life-threatening condition.

According to the UN human rights office, the strikes occurred during a busy period when large numbers of civilians were in and around a market containing more than 200 shops operated by members of several communities, including Rakhine, Rohingya, Hindu and Daingnet.

“This latest attack raises serious concerns about respect for international humanitarian law with respect to the conduct of hostilities,” Türk said. He stressed that parties to armed conflict must respect the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack.

The UN human rights office described the Kyauktaw bombing as one of the deadliest attacks carried out in Arakan since Myanmar’s February 2021 military coup and said the casualty toll was expected to rise.

Türk said the attack highlighted the grave dangers facing civilians in Arakan amid Myanmar’s continuing conflict. He also pointed to reports of arbitrary arrests, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, enforced disappearance, forced labour and forced recruitment, particularly affecting the Rohingya, allegedly involving both the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA).

The Kyauktaw attack came amid intensified airstrikes and fighting across Arakan.

On September 28 alone, military aircraft carried out attacks in Kyauktaw, Ponnagyun, Anjanapura (Minbya) and Thandwe townships, according to DMG reporting. The Kyauktaw attack involved two bombs dropped by a fighter jet on the crowded India Market and Kissapanadi Bridge area.

The attack followed repeated aerial and artillery strikes across Arakan. Between September 17 and 27, at least six civilians were killed and 16 injured in attacks affecting Ann, Minbya, Gwa, Kyauktaw, Ponnagyun, Pauktaw, Rathedaung, Thandwe and Mrauk-U townships, according to the AA. Civilian homes, religious buildings and a school were also damaged.

Fighting between the military and AA also intensified along the Sittwe-Ponnagyun border by September 30 following a brief lull. Military units based in Sittwe fired heavy artillery into areas of Ponnagyun Township, with five homes damaged in Tabethlwan Village on September 30, according to DMG reporting.

The Kyauktaw bombing occurred against a broader pattern of intensified aerial operations in Arakan. ISP-Myanmar recorded at least 222 military airstrikes in Arakan between March 31 and August 31, placing the state among the areas subjected to the highest numbers of airstrikes nationwide during the five-month period. The figure does not include the series of attacks recorded during September.

Türk said the continuing violence underscored the plight of civilians across Myanmar, particularly in Arakan, and reiterated that parties to armed conflict must comply with the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack under international humanitarian law.