A junta airstrike hit an Arakan Army (AA) detention facility holding prisoners of war (POWs) and their family members near Chaungtu Village in Kyauktaw Township, Arakan (Rakhine) State, killing at least 21 people and injuring 30 others, according to local sources.
The attack occurred at around 7:30 p.m. on January 20, when a junta fighter jet dropped four bombs on the facility. The bombs struck dormitories where POWs and their families were detained, as well as a clinic, causing massive explosions and heavy casualties.
“Two bombs hit the clinic where injured POWs were being treated, and another hit the dormitory where detained soldiers were staying. The last bomb landed near the dormitory holding their family members. Four prisoners were killed and 6 were injured in the clinic. In the POW dormitory, 13 killed, 16 injured. Four family members were also killed, and 8 others were injured.” an AA official at the detention facility told DMG.
The AA is currently providing medical treatment to the wounded, including 5 people who sustained serious injuries, the official added.
Daw Thazin Cho, the wife of the former commander of the junta’s Artillery Battalion 377 based in Kyauktaw, said detainees and their families experienced extreme fear during the unexpected nighttime airstrike.
“It happened at night, so it was terrifying. All the doors were shut and locked when the bombing started. After the first bomb fell, people tried to get out and shouted for someone, maybe guards, to open the doors. We had no keys, and we really thought we were going to die trapped inside. Some detainees from the men’s dormitory managed to escape and helped us get out. That’s the only reason we survived,” she said.
She urged the coup regime’s military leaders to show basic humanitarian consideration for captured soldiers and their family members during the conflict.
Thousands of junta soldiers and their families who surrendered or were captured during the AA’s offensive to seize control of towns across Arakan State are currently being held at various locations. The AA has released some detainees and family members in batches.
Private Tay Zar Lin, a POW injured in the Kyauktaw airstrike, said the junta should never carry out attacks that harm its own troops and their families.
“This should never happen. There were women and children among the detained families. There are also elderly people who depend on the soldiers who are being held,” he said.
According to DMG data, the junta has bombed at least four AA detention camps in Pauktaw, Maungdaw, Mrauk-U, and Kyauktaw townships between September 2024 and January 2026.
On September 8, 2024, a junta jet attacked a POW detention facility near Shinywa Village in Pauktaw Township, killing 17 detainees, including captured soldiers, and injuring 10 others.
The following day, an airstrike near 4-Mile Village in Maungdaw Township killed 60 POWs and detainees and injured many more.
On January 18, 2025, the junta aircraft bombed a camp housing POW families in Yanchaung Village, Mrauk-U Township, killing 28 women and children and injuring another 28 people.
The most recent Kyauktaw airstrike killed 21 people and injured 30 others.
After losing control of most of Arakan State, the junta has continued to launch airstrikes on AA-held areas, including civilian neighborhoods, prisons, and detention sites, leading to growing numbers of civilian and detainee casualties.
