At least 17 civilians, including several children, have been killed after the Myanmar military carried out an airstrike on a village in Rakhine State on Tuesday.
Local sources reported that a junta jet fighter dropped two 500lb bombs on Yo Ngū village in Ponnagyun Township shortly after 14:00 local time on 24 February. The bombs reportedly struck the center of the village, landing near a local market and a school.
“The strike hit right near the market and school,” a local source told the Myanmar Pressphoto Agency (MPA). “Homes and market stalls were set ablaze. We are currently pulling bodies and the injured from the fire. Many of the victims are women and children”.
Rescue efforts are ongoing, but workers have struggled to identify many of the deceased. “The bodies are badly charred from the fire, making it difficult to distinguish who they are,” the source added. In addition to the fatalities, at least 14 people were injured, with three reported to be in critical condition.
Yo Ngū village is situated along the Yangon-Sittwe highway and has become a sanctuary for many internally displaced persons (IDPs) fleeing conflict in neighboring Sittwe and Ponnagyun townships. It is believed that many of those killed were IDPs who had sought refuge in the village.
This incident is the latest in a series of deadly air attacks in the region. In November 2025, a similar airstrike on Yo Ta-yoke village in Ponnagyun Township killed six civilians.
The Myanmar military has increasingly relied on heavy aerial bombardment as it loses territory to ethnic resistance forces across the country. Rights groups and the United Nations have repeatedly warned that such strikes on civilian-populated areas may constitute war crimes.
