Deaths and injuries among civilians continue to mount in Arakan (Rakhine) State as the junta steps up attacks across the region. According to data compiled by DMG, at least 11 civilians were killed and 6 others injured in January alone.
The casualties stemmed from airstrikes, artillery shelling, and blasts from landmines and unexploded ordnance, with airstrikes accounting for the highest number of victims.
On 20 January, a junta airstrike on Chaungtu detention camp in Kyauktaw Township killed 21 family members of prisoners of war (POWs) held by the Arakan Army (AA) and injured roughly 30 others.
As the junta intensifies its air raids, residents across Arakan State are living in constant fear.
“We’re living in constant fear, never knowing when the planes will strike, even while we’re asleep. Whenever we hear them, we have to rush to find any place that might be safe. There’s no truly safe place from these airstrikes. It feels like there’s nowhere left to hide,” a local woman in Kyauktaw told DMG.
A report by the Myanmar Defense and Security Institute (MDSI) released in January underscored the severity of the situation, noting that Arakan State had one of the highest casualty rates from air attacks nationwide in 2025.
The junta conducted 78 airstrikes in Arakan State last year, killing 236 civilians and injuring 372, according to the report.
“The situation right now feels completely insecure. We live in fear every single day. Since there’s nowhere safe from these air raids, there need to be measures to protect the people. I also call on the international community to take stronger action against this junta that is treating its own citizens so brutally,” said an Arakanese human rights activist.
The MDSI has also called for the urgent implementation of systematic and widespread airstrike protection measures. It further highlighted that the junta has begun deploying various types of aerial weaponry, specifically adapted to different target types and terrains.
The junta is leveraging its unilateral air superiority to intensify operations aimed at reclaiming territory in Arakan State lost to the AA.
