In the afternoon of Wednesday 8th January, air strikes carried out by Myanmar’s military junta struck the village of Kyauk Ni Maw, in Ramree Township in the country’s Rakhine (also known as Arakan) state, killing at least 41 civilians and injuring 52 more.
The targeted village is predominantly Muslim and under the control of the Arakan Army (AA), an armed group in Western Rakhine. The attack caused widespread damage and devastation to the area, igniting fires which destroyed over 500 homes. According to locals, there were numerous women, children and elderly residents among the victims.
It was also reported that the situation in Kyauk Ni Maw cannot be independently confirmed, as access to the internet and mobile phone services in the area has been largely cut off.
U Khaing Thukha, a spokesperson for the AA has denounced the attacks, claiming it as a war crime. He stated that “Assaulting unarmed civilians in an area free from conflict is explicitly a war crime.”
The AA is one of countless armed groups engaged in combat with the Myanmar military junta across the country. The AA is currently battling the junta for control of Rakhine, where it has already captured swathes of territory within the last year.
Rakhine state has experienced the highest numbers of civilian casualties in the country since the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi‘s civilian government in a military coup in February 2021, which ignited a national armed uprising and the development of countless armed factions.
Since 1 February 2021, AOAV has recorded an 857% increase in civilian casualties in Myanmar, from 353 to 3,379, 28% (1,930) of which were recorded in Rakhine. Between 2021 and 2024, the military junta has intensified its air strikes across the country, for example, the number of airstrikes increased by 2,563%, from 8 to 213 between 2021 to 2024. The number of civilian casualties as a result has increased by 3,145%, from 62 to 2,012 between the same time period.
Overall 2024 was the most harmful year since AOAV records began in 2010, overtaking 2023, which had previously been Myanmar’s most violent year. In 2024, AOAV recorded 451 incidents of explosive violence in Myanmar, resulting in 3,776 casualties, 89% (3,379) of which were civilians (1,494 killed and 1,885 injured). The military junta accounted for 88% of civilian casualties in 2024, whereas non-state actors accounted for 9% of civilian casualties.
So far in the first nine days of January 2025, AOAV has recorded 4 incidents of explosive violence, resulting in 83 casualties, 80% (66) of which were civilians (44 killed and 22 injured), this figure is mainly comprised of casualties from the attack on Kyauk Ni Maw village. The numbers of civilian casualties in Myanmar are expected to continue rising as the year goes on, with the conflict showing no sign of de-escalation and civilian casualties increasing year on year.
AOAV’s casualty figures represent the lowest of estimations in terms of the number of people killed and injured by explosive weapon use. In an effort to quantify the explicit harm caused by specific explosive weapons, AOAV solely records incident-specific casualty figures, as reported in English-language media.
AOAV condemns the use of violence against civilians and the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. All actors should stop using explosive weapons with wide-area effects where there is likely to be a high concentration of civilians.