YANGON: A Myanmar military air strike on a village market in the country’s westernmost state killed at least 17 people, two local sources said on Wednesday (Feb 25).
Myanmar has been consumed by civil war since the junta snatched power in a 2021 coup, pitching the military against an array of ethnic minority armed groups and pro-democracy guerrillas.
The western coastal state of Rakhine is among the worst-hit regions. Controlled almost entirely by the ethnic minority Arakan Army, it has been blockaded by the junta and pummelled with regular air strikes.
The junta’s air force hit the village of Yoe Ngu in Ponnagyun township, around 33km north-east of state capital Sittwe on Feb 24, according to the armed opposition group and a local volunteer group.
A Myanmar military spokesman could not be reached for comment.
The Arakan Army’s statements listed the names of 17 “innocent civilians”, including three children, killed in the strike on a marketplace around 2pm local time (3.30pm Malaysian time) on Feb 24. It said 15 more people had been wounded.
Pyae Phyo Naing, chairman of the Ponnagyun Youths Association, said: “In our list, there are 18 confirmed deaths and 16 injured people.”
Arriving at the scene after the strike, he described its aftermath as “really bad; four or five buildings were burnt down and many buildings were destroyed”.
“Some people were crying, while many dead bodies were scattered over the area,” the 23-year-old added.
“Some people were running away from the scene as there were also houses still burning when we arrived.”
Aid groups regularly sound alarms over the spiralling crisis in Rakhine, which borders Bangladesh.
The military blockade on top of the conflict and recent sweeping cuts to international aid have driven a “dramatic rise in hunger and malnutrition” in the state, the World Food Programme warned in 2025.
While the military has been accused of atrocities in the state, the Arakan Army has its own track record of rights abuses, according to monitors that have tallied incidents of alleged abduction, torture and execution.
The group has emerged as one of the most powerful factions opposing the junta’s rule – pushing troops to a handful of encircled positions in Rakhine, including Sittwe.
The military has been able to hold out with the aid of supply airlifts and strikes carried out by its fleet of Chinese- and Russian-made jets. - AFP
