Four children and an adult were killed and 13 others injured in Myanmar junta airstrikes in Mrauk-U Township, Rakhine State, on Thursday.
Fighter jets dropped about five bombs on Lay Hnyin Taung village, killing children aged one and three, two 10-year-old girls and a woman on Thursday morning, a villager told The Irrawaddy.
Lay Hnyin Taung has around 300 homes and is about 11km east of the historic city of Mrauk-U and no fighting was reported in the area. Around seven homes were destroyed.
The airstrike injured 13 other civilians, including two children, including eight who were severely wounded, he said.
Those injured were taken to Tain Nyo village’s hospital.
Large numbers of Mrauk-U Township residents have been displaced since November last year.
Mrauk-U has been under Arakan Army (AA) control since the regime’s Infantry Battalion 377 fell on February 6.
The AA launched its offensive on November 13 last year, seizing nine towns: Ramree, Pauktaw, Myebon, Ponnagyun, Minbya, Mrauk-U, Kyauktaw and Taung Pyo Letwe in Rakhine State and Paletwa in southern Chin State.
The junta has responded with shelling and airstrikes against non-military targets.
The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project, which details conflicts around the world, counted 588 airstrikes across Myanmar between November 23 to March 8, 19 percent of which hit Rakhine State. It said 34 percent of Rakhine airstrikes had targeted civilians.
The AA’s Humanitarian and Development Coordination Office reported that 111 civilians have been killed and 257 injured in Rakhine State since November 13.
