Junta steps up aerial attacks on IDP camps across Arakan

By Admin 04 Nov 2026

DMG Newsroom

4 November 2026, Kyaukphyu

The military regime has intensified aerial attacks on internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in areas controlled by the Arakan Army, putting displaced civilians at increasing risk.

At around 12:15 p.m. on November 2, a junta gyrocopter dropped two bombs on an IDP camp in Minpyin Village near Sanae in Kyaukphyu Township.

The bombing killed two displaced civilians and injured five others, while damaging shelters and killing livestock.

"A bomb fell directly onto one of the shelters," a male resident of Kyaukphyu told DMG. "The location has zero military significance. These families have been displaced at least three times already and had built makeshift shelters with whatever meager resources they had left. When the military bombed them, they lost everything."

The military's use of gyrocopters to attack IDP camps in Kyaukphyu Township has triggered widespread panic among displaced populations.

Local residents said the junta carries out daily aerial attacks in Kyaukphyu Township using jet fighters, paramotors, gyrocopters and combat drones.

According to local sources, the targeted IDP camp near Minpyin Village is located roughly six miles from active battle zones between the military junta and the Arakan Army. Residents said there was no military presence in the area.

"Air attacks near Sanae Town include bombings by jet fighters and strafing by paramotors," another Kyaukphyu resident said. "Around Minpyin Village, when junta forces launch offensive moves, the Arakan Army responds defensively. Near Sanae Town and Awa Taung Village, the Arakan Army has been engaging in both offensive maneuvers and defensive counterattacks."

Fierce clashes between the military junta and the Arakan Army continue across Kyaukphyu Township. Residents accuse the regime of committing war crimes by targeting civilian villages with aerial attacks, naval shelling, heavy artillery and drone strikes.

In addition to Kyaukphyu, the military regime has repeatedly targeted IDP camps in Ponnagyun Township with aerial attacks.

On October 23, a junta airstrike on Pannilar Village in Ponnagyun Township killed one civilian and injured two others, including an internally displaced person.

Earlier, on October 5, a separate junta airstrike hit the Pannilar area, reportedly killing one displaced person and injuring four others.

On October 4, junta aircraft bombed the Byarla IDP camp, located between Thayetcho and Yoengu villages in Ponnagyun Township, killing six displaced civilians and injuring others.

"The military junta’s aerial bombardments against displaced populations have completely stripped people of their homes, livelihoods, children's right to education, healthcare access, and basic human rights," Ko Ar Gyi, an aid worker in Arakan State, told DMG.

Data compiled by DMG shows that junta airstrikes across Arakan State between January and October 2026 killed 209 civilians and injured 421 others.

Due to the ongoing threat of aerial attacks, displaced families in Ponnagyun and Kyaukphyu townships are once again fleeing to safer areas.