Junta attacks have forced thousands of people to flee from the three Arakan (Rakhine) State townships surrounding Sittwe Township, Ponnagyun, Rathedaung, and Pauktaw, as fighting in Sittwe Township escalates.
The junta launched an airstrike on Kuntaung Village in Ponnagyun Township on 17 February 2025.
At about 3:00 pm on 5 January 2025, junta aircraft bombed Aung Zone Pyin Village and the area around Taung Pauk Village in Ponnagyun Township, killing four local women and injuring several others.
In Rathedaung Township, several villages on Moe Sae Island and along the Mayu coastline near to the border with Sittwe Township started to evacuate on 14 January due to the threat of airstrikes and shelling by the junta.
A resident from one of the villages on Moe Sae Island said: "Moe Sae Island is frequently targeted by junta airstrikes due to its proximity to Sittwe, making the villages on the island unsafe. Fighter aircraft also fly over regularly, forcing locals to flee for safety.”
The villages of Zeekaing, Nayung Pinle, Latpanyin, Sarpyingyi, and Panzinmaw on Moe Sae Island have been evacuated, as have the villages A Ngu Maw, Ma Gyi Chaung, and Kone Tan on the Mayu coastline.
In Pauktaw Township, the junta launched attacks from both the land and the Kaladan River estuary on villages east of Sittwe Town on 17 February.
Also on 17 February, junta aircraft dropped 500 pound bombs on Thae Khone Village and Nga Pyi Island in Pauktaw Township.
This caused Pauktaw Township villagers from villages on Nga Pyi Island, Myay Ngu Island and Taungyin Island to flee their homes.
On 20 February, four civilians were killed and a further 17 injured when a junta Y-12 light utility aircraft dropped approximately 50 bombs on Pauktaw Town and eight villages in Pauktaw Township.
A Pauktaw Township resident said: “Since the clashes in Sittwe began [on 19 February] , Pauktaw Township has become a target for the junta. Villages across the river from Sittwe, in particular, have faced airstrikes and artillery shelling, forcing residents to flee.”
Residents of Ponnagyun, Rathedaung, and Pauktaw townships are digging bomb shelters in the more densely populated villages of the townships.
A resident of Pauktaw Township said: “The AA authorities have advised locals to dig bomb shelters in the three townships around Sittwe in preparation for a potential increase in junta’s bombings targeting civilian areas as fighting intensifies.
The AA began its current offensive operation in Sittwe Township on 16 January 2025. The fighting started intensifying about a month later as it moved closer to Sittwe Town.
According to figures released by the AA’s Humanitarian and Development Coordination Office (HDCO), the AA department responsible for humanitarian affairs, 600,000 people have been displaced from their homes in Arakan State since the ceasefire between the junta and the AA collapsed on 13 November 2023.
