Myanmar Junta Drone Attack Kills Displaced Elderly Woman in Rakhine State

An elderly displaced woman was killed early Friday when Myanmar military forces launched a drone strike on a village in Rakhine State, according to local sources and a relief organization. The first-person-view (FPV) drone strike hit Kyaukseik Village in Ponnagyun Township—an area controlled by the ethnic armed group Arakan Army (AA)—at around 2:00 a.m. The victim, 63-year-old Daw Hla Than Yi, had previously fled fighting in neighboring Werathani Township. She died from severe shrapnel wounds to her chest, according to the Phyu Sin Yin Khwin Foundation, a local civil society group. The foundation strongly condemned the attack, accusing the regime of intentionally targeting civilians. Clashes along the Sittwe-Ponnagyun border reignited on Sept. 4 as military forces launched an offensive from neighboring Sittwe Township to capture Ponnagyun. Since then, junta forces have increasingly deployed jet fighters, heavy artillery, and kamikaze drones against civilian settlements and religious sites. Recent strikes include a Sept. 7 airstrike on Phetkya Village and a Sept. 4 attack near Guwa Cave Pagoda that damaged several Buddha statues. “The regime is using all available forces in an attempt to capture Ponnagyun Township,” said a local activist, warning residents to take heightened precautions against ongoing air and drone hazards.