Reuters reported on Nov. 2 that an Arakan Army spokesperson and a local aid worker described at least 12 deaths and 32 injuries across four Rakhine townships on Nov. 1; the aid worker separately described five deaths at the Mrauk-U clinic, including a newborn. Reuters also attributed the separate Loikaw school toll of three dead and five wounded to the Karenni Human Rights Group. Development Media Group published the Arakan Army's account and explicitly said it could not independently verify the figures, alleged cluster-munition use or damage. The two reports are not independent confirmation of the Rakhine toll. Myanmar's military-backed authorities had not responded to Reuters by publication; the military has previously described its campaign as a legitimate fight against terrorists. The UN Myanmar Mechanism's cited findings cover July 2025–June 2026 and provide conflict context only; they do not establish what happened in these November strikes. Both photographs are dated archive context from Rakhine in December 2012 and do not depict the reported attacks. The FCDO image is licensed under the Open Government Licence v1.0; the DFID image is CC BY-SA 2.0. Both original 4,272 × 2,848 JPEGs were proportionally resized to 1,600 × 1,067, metadata stripped and re-encoded as progressive JPEGs at quality 84 without cropping or content retouching. The DFID derivative is shared under the same CC BY-SA 2.0 license.
A maternity clinic was among the sites hit in Rakhine
At least 15 people were reported killed in separate airstrikes across Myanmar over the weekend, including a newborn and three students, Reuters reported on Monday. The casualty accounts came from an ethnic armed group, a local aid worker and rights monitors; the numbers have not been independently verified.
On Sunday, Nov. 1, strikes hit four townships in western Rakhine State. An Arakan Army spokesperson and aid worker told Reuters that at least 12 people were killed and 32 wounded. They said a temporary clinic and maternity ward in Mrauk-U was struck. Local aid worker Wai Hun Aung told Reuters that a week-old baby girl and four other people, including healthcare workers, died when the building collapsed. The baby's twin survived.
Development Media Group reported a similar account from the Arakan Army, which said attacks also hit a bridge and residential areas. The outlet said it could not independently verify the toll or extent of damage. The Arakan Army is a party to the conflict and controls Mrauk-U.
A separate strike reportedly hit a school
A day earlier, on Saturday, Oct. 31, an airstrike hit a school in Loikaw, in eastern Kayah State, while classes were underway, Reuters reported, citing the Karenni Human Rights Group. The group said three students were killed and five wounded.
Reuters also cited a Karenni interim council official who said there were no military movements or clashes near the school. That account, like the casualty report, has not been independently verified. The military-backed government did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.
Earlier UN findings do not verify the weekend reports
Myanmar's military has previously described its campaign as a legitimate fight against terrorists. In August, the UN's Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar said its annual investigation found a pattern of deliberate aerial attacks on civilian sites, including schools, medical facilities and displacement camps. That report covered July 2025 to June 2026 and does not establish the circumstances or responsibility for the strikes described this week.
The November accounts remain reports from sources in territory affected by fighting. No independent confirmation of the casualty totals was available when this article was verified.
Sources
3 references
- ReutersNewborn among 15 killed as Myanmar military strikes maternity clinic and school, sources saySame-day reporting based on interviews with a local aid worker and an Arakan Army spokesperson, and an account from the Karenni Human Rights Group; Reuters said the military-backed government had not responded to its request for comment. · 2026-11-02
- Development Media GroupMyanmar airstrikes kill 12 civilians, injure 32 across four Arakan townships: AALocal report of the Arakan Army's account of the Rakhine attacks; DMG says it could not independently verify the casualty figures or damage. · 2026-11-01
- Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (United Nations)Myanmar Mechanism investigations reveal deliberate attacks on civilians by the Myanmar military – Annual ReportPrimary UN summary of investigations covering July 2025 to June 2026; included solely as background and not evidence about the November incidents. · 2026-08-11
