Myanmar Junta Airstrike Hits Market, 17 People Killed

An airstrike launched by the Myanmar military junta hit a market in the Rakhine region. At least 17 people were killed in the attack.

Myanmar has been plagued by civil war since the military junta seized power from the civilian government in a coup in 2021. In the ongoing civil war, Myanmar junta forces have been clashing with armed groups from various ethnic minorities and pro-democracy guerrillas in the country.

The Myanmar armed opposition group, the Arakan Army, reported that the military junta’s airstrike hit a market in the village of Yoe Ngu, in Rakhine, the country’s westernmost state, on Tuesday (February 24th) local time, as reported by AFP on Wednesday (February 25th, 2026).

The Arakan Army stated that at least 17 “innocent civilians” were killed in the attack.

A separate report from the civil volunteer group, the Ponnagyun Youth Association (PYA), stated that the death toll reached 18 people.

The PYA stated that the Myanmar military junta’s airstrike triggered fires and destroyed buildings in the Rakhine region.

“The situation is very bad, four or five buildings are on fire and many buildings have been destroyed,” said the chairman of the PYA, Pyae Phyo Naing, who arrived at the scene after the attack.

“Some people are crying while many bodies are lying in the area,” he said.

“A number of people were running away from the scene because there were still houses on fire when we arrived,” said Naing in his statement.

So far, there has been no official statement from a spokesman for the Myanmar military junta regarding the report.