Death toll rises to 50 in Myanmar military airstrike near Bangladesh border

A Myanmar military airstrike on a busy riverside market in Kyauktaw town on September 28, 2026, killed 50 people and wounded at least 58 others. The attack, the deadliest in Rakhine State since December, drew strong condemnation from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The Arakan Army accused the military of deliberately targeting civilians and vowed retaliation, while the UN warned the violence underscores that conditions are unsafe for refugee returns.

Casualties and details of the Kyauktaw airstrike

• ▪The Kyauktaw airstrike is the deadliest such attack in Rakhine State since a December hospital bombing that killed at least 30 people
• ▪A Myanmar military airstrike around midday on Monday, 28 September 2026, in Kyauktaw town, Rakhine State, targeted a busy riverside market and adjacent bridge, killing 50 people and wounding at least 58 others

United Nations reaction to the attack

• ▪United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the September 28 Kyauktaw airstrike and called on all parties to end the violence in Myanmar immediately and protect civilians
• ▪United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric stated that the continuing violence in Rakhine State underscores that conditions do not currently exist for the safe return of refugees to Myanmar
• ▪United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged all parties in the Myanmar conflict to enable safe, sustained, and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid delivery

Myanmar military conduct

• ▪The Myanmar military has previously stated that it exercises maximum restraint to avoid civilian harm, and government spokespersons did not respond to requests for comment regarding the Kyauktaw attack on September 28, 2026
• ▪Rights groups accused the Myanmar military's air wing of committing atrocities targeting civilians at schools, monasteries, and religious festivals, stating these attacks may constitute war crimes

Context of the Myanmar conflict

• ▪The Arakan Army controls almost all of Rakhine State, except for a few urban centers defended by the Myanmar military using Russian- and Chinese-manufactured fighter jets
• ▪Myanmar has been locked in a nationwide civil war since a 2021 military coup, resulting in approximately 100,000 deaths and displacing over 3.5 million people

Debatable claims

• ▪The Myanmar military's airstrikes on civilian areas constitute war crimes
• ▪The Myanmar military bears sole responsibility for civilian deaths in Kyauktaw
• ▪The Arakan Army's armed retaliation against the military is justified