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The World Must Respond to Kyauktaw’s Indian Market Killing by the Barbaric Myanmar Junta
Kyaw Zan ၊ Opinion ၊ September 28, 2026
The Myanmar junta’s latest air attack on civilians in Arakan shows once again how dangerous the war has become for ordinary people. At around 12 PM on September 28, 2026, Myanmar junta air forces attacked the Indian market near Kyauktaw town, a populated civilian area. According to the information available so far, at least 33 civilians, including women and children, were killed and another 36 were injured. The death toll may rise as the situation is still being assessed.
This attack cannot be viewed as an isolated incident. Since the war returned to Arakan in November 2023, civilian areas have repeatedly come under attack. As the Myanmar military has lost ground in battles against the AA, its use of air power has increasingly become a major threat to civilians. Instead of protecting people, the junta has repeatedly used attacks from the air against populated areas where civilians have little protection.
Records from HDCO show that the Myanmar junta has killed more than 1,200 civilians since the return of war in Arakan in November 2023. Since December 2024, air attacks have become the largest cause of civilian casualties. More importantly, the scale of some individual attacks shows that mass civilian deaths are not rare.
The record is clear as follows;
Against this record, the latest killing at the Indian market near Kyauktaw should not be treated simply as another battlefield incident. It is part of a continuing pattern in which civilian populations have paid a heavy price for the Myanmar military's use of air power. Women, children, students, patients, displaced people and ordinary villagers have all appeared among the victims.
The key question now is how the international community will respond. Repeated condemnation without meaningful pressure risks allowing such attacks to continue. The UN, ASEAN, China, India and other influential actors have a responsibility to put stronger pressure on Myanmar junta leaders, including Min Aung Hlaing and Ye Win Oo, to stop attacks against civilian populations.
The people of Arakan need more than statements of concern after each massacre. They need effective international action to prevent further attacks and protect civilians. The repeated killing of civilians should not become normal simply because it happens again and again. The world must respond before another market, village, school or hospital becomes the next site of mass civilian deaths.
Photos of civilians killed and injured:
