In Mrauk-U Town in Arakan (Rakhine) State’s Mrauk-U Township, residents of 42 homes destroyed by the junta’s airstrikes are now homeless and struggling to find shelter.
On August 25, junta aircraft dropped two 500-pound bombs on Daikyi Ward in Arakan Army (AA)-controlled Mrauk-U Town, killing 14 civilians including five children, injuring 18 others, and destroying 42 homes.
“Our house and barn were destroyed in the bombing. There’s nothing left, just a huge hole where our home once stood,” said Daw Phyu Phyu Win, a Mrauk-U resident who lost her home in the airstrike.
More than 200 residents of Daikyi Ward were left homeless by the airstrike, with most finding temporary shelter with relatives or constructing makeshift huts in open fields.
“Our house was reduced to a pile of debris, nothing’s left, not even the roof or walls. Right now, I’m staying temporarily with my grandson at my sister’s house. Even though they’re family, I’m afraid we’re being a burden on them,” said Daw Mya Aye, another Mrauk-U local who also lost her home.
Not only those whose homes were destroyed, but many Daikyi Ward residents are also currently in temporary evacuation, fearing further follow-up airstrikes by the junta.
In addition to the total destruction of 42 houses in the junta airstrike, locals reported that other structures were also damaged by shrapnel.
“Some people in the ward have lost everything. They can’t even get their clothes back. When injured patients are discharged from the hospital, they’ll have nowhere to go. They’ll need shelters too. I hope the relevant authorities can make arrangements for this," said an AA-appointed ward administrator.
The locals who became homeless are facing tremendous difficulties rebuilding their lives, as their life-long accumulated assets were also destroyed in the airstrike.
The junta is deliberately targeting civilian areas across the country, causing daily civilian casualties.
Since fighting reignited in Arakan State in November 2023, the junta’s airstrikes, artillery shelling, and arbitrary killings have killed 926 civilians and injured 1,954, AA spokesperson U Khaing Thu Kha said at a press briefing on August 11.
During that period, the junta’s airstrikes, shelling, and arson destroyed over 11,000 structures in Arakan State, including 10,502 homes, 90 religious buildings, 45 schools, 12 hospitals and clinics, 12 bridges, and several NGO buildings, according to the AA.
