Airstrikes hit four towns in Rakhine State as military ‘Operation 4926’ falters

At least two civilians were killed and three others were injured in simultaneous airstrikes carried out by the Myanmar Air Force in Arakan State’s Ponnagyun, Pauktaw, Gwa and Minbya townships on Monday. The four towns, located 20-400 miles (32-643 km) northeast and south of the Arakan State capital Sittwe, were seized by the Arakan Army (AA) in 2024. A resident in Ponnagyun’s Kalachaung village was killed by airstrikes on Sept. 21, after most residents had fled their homes on Sept. 4 after the military launched “Operation 4926” against the AA. One resident was killed and another was injured by airstrikes in Pauktaw’s Taungphu village on Sept. 21, residents told DVB. Two civilians were injured in Gwa, roughly 300 miles (482 km) south of Pauktaw, in airstrikes that occurred on the same day. No casualties were reported from airstrikes in Minbya. On Sept. 20, sources told DVB that two civilians were killed by artillery strikes in Rathedaung Township, 44 miles (70 km) north of Sittwe. Sources close to the AA told DVB that the military’s counteroffensive in Ponnagyun “faltered” and regime troops retreated to their base in Sittwe Township on an unspecified date. Over 1,000 regime troops arrived in Sittwe as reinforcements in mid-August, which allowed the regime counteroffensive in Ponnagyun to begin. The AA released an alleged confession of a captured regime soldier who said that his forces were ordered by their commanders to kill civilians, including children, during the counteroffensive in Ponnagyun on Sept. 20. The soldier, identified as Aung Pyae Phyo, a member of Infantry Battalion 252 under Division 101, told the AA that they were ordered not to retreat and to keep advancing until they all died. A Myanmar Army defector told DVB on Sept. 17 that the counteroffensive is an attempt to regain control of Ponnagyun because it is viewed by the regime as a “vital gateway” into northern Arakan State’s Buthidaung, Maungdaw and Rathedaung townships, which have all been seized by the AA since 2024. The AA now controls all of northern Arakan along with the entire 168 miles (271 km) long Myanmar-Bangladesh border. An estimated 150,000 Rohingya residents of northern Arakan have fled their homes into Bangladesh since mid-2024, according to the U.N. The AA has seized 14 out of Arakan’s 17 townships, as well as neighboring Chin State’s Paletwa Township, since it launched its most recent offensive against regime forces on Nov. 13, 2023. It has expanded its offensive into neighbouring Ayeyarwady, Bago and Magway regions in 2025. Besides Sittwe and Kyaukphyu, Manaung is the only other township under regime control in the state. The post Airstrikes hit four towns in Rakhine State as military ‘Operation 4926’ falters appeared first on DVB.