SAC Jets Bomb Ngapali Tourist Town in Thandwe Township — Rare Air Strike on Rakhine Coastal Resort Area

At approximately 3:00 PM on April 23, 2026, two Myanmar Air Force fighter jets dropped bombs on Ziphyu Kone Ward within Ngapali town, Thandwe Township, Rakhine State. Ngapali is Myanmar's most famous beach resort destination — a coastal area historically insulated from direct combat strikes due to its distance from active frontlines and the economic interests of maintaining some semblance of tourism infrastructure. The attack marks a notable geographic expansion of SAC bombing operations into Thandwe Township, where the Arakan Army (AA) has steadily expanded its presence throughout Rakhine State. The junta's airstrike on a residential ward within Ngapali town — potentially the first direct jet strike on the resort town since the conflict began — underscores that the SAC is deploying airpower in areas it previously avoided. Rakhine's tourism sector had been largely shuttered since the coup; under AA control, any economic activity in Thandwe would flow to Arakan Army governance structures rather than SAC revenue channels. Casualty figures were under investigation at time of initial reporting. The strike follows the April 20 SAC bombing of a KNU hospital (with one bomb crossing into Thailand) and the April 23 SAC drone attack on a Wetlet school — part of an intensifying multi-front aerial campaign since Min Aung Hlaing's April 10 'civilian presidency' inauguration.