Two women and three men are dead after a regime aircraft flew three airstrikes on a village in Paletwa Township in southern Chin State.
“The jet fighter bombed the market in Tarawaing when it was busy with people,” said an ethnic Khumi youth.
No fighting was reported at the time of the attack, which occurred at about 4 pm on May 21.
Eleven people were injured and a house and shop were destroyed in the market located on the upper section of the village along the banks of the Kalandan River.
The deceased individuals are U Maung Thein Naing (32), U Aung Tun (67), two Khumi from Ouk Balai, and Ma Sanda (17), Daw Hla Khaing Oo (47), and U Aung Kyaw Nyunt (33), all Arakanese.
Last December, Arakan Army (AA) captured the Military Council’s strategic hilltop camp overlooking Tarawaing and is deployed near the village.
There are about 100 homes in Tarawaing, and Khumi and Arakanese people live side by side.
The AA seized control of the entire border between Chin and Arakan states and has captured much of Arakan State in recent months.