Interview: Gwa resident discusses fighting on the doorstep

By Admin 12 Dec 2024

DMG Newsroom
12 December 2024

In Gwa Township, a relentless offensive by the Arakkha Army (AA) has brought the fighting to within about a mile of Gwa Town. As the AA's attacks approach the town, Myanmar's military regime is heavily reinforcing its positions with more troops and weapons.

Meanwhile, the AA and its allies have been ambushing junta reinforcements heading to Gwa, killing and capturing many of them. A local source told DMG about the fighting in Gwa Township and the hardships faced by residents.

DMG: What is the current military situation in Gwa Township?

The fighting is quite close to Gwa Town now. It has reached near Tin Taw and Amaw villages across Rahai Kutoe Creek. Yesterday, there were airstrikes along the mountains behind Rahai Kwin and Shwe Nan Khaing villages.

As the fighting gets closer to the town, the regime brings in reinforcements. Last week, they set up two artillery units, one at the airfield in Myoma Ward and another near the Baydar checkpoint on the Gwa-Ngathainggyaung road. Clashes are occurring almost daily, and PDF [People Defence Force] and AA forces frequently ambush military convoys coming from Ayeyarwady [Region].

DMG: What do you know about the junta's defensive posture in the town?

They are reinforcing their troops in the town. They bring in reinforcements three times a week, with at least five vehicles each time. This has included personnel, weapons and supplies. Junta battalions' troops in the town have been moved to a base outside the town. The regime is also building big bunkers on the bridge linking Gwa Town with Ma Kyay Ngu [Village]. I have seen armoured vehicles patrolling the town recently.

DMG: How are residents doing as the fighting gets closer to the town?

As the fighting gets closer to the town, both the regime and the AA have told the residents to evacuate. Gunfire and artillery shelling are heard almost daily. Residents from the town and nearby villages have fled to Ayeyarwady and Thandwe. About 80 percent of the population have fled and only around 20 percent remain in the town to guard their homes. Only people with citizenship ID cards indicating that they are from Gwa Town can enter or leave the town.

DMG: Do they have food and healthcare services?

They can only scrape by on the food they have. Some cannot afford rice and are buying broken rice. It can be said that it is no longer possible to bring supplies into the town. There are only some basic medicines left in the town, like paracetamol. For emergency conditions, patients ask for help from social organisations to go to Ayeyarwady.

Since few people remain in the town, theft is rampant; particularly consumer goods are being stolen. Some people remain in the town because they can't afford travel costs.

DMG: How bad is the security situation for residents in the town?

They remain because they have no other choice. They are filled with fear and anxiety. They are concerned as junta soldiers patrol around the town with armoured vehicles. Some young men are concerned that they will be conscripted. They are worried about their safety and are unsure how to survive if fighting breaks out in the town.

We have heard that many people who fled to Ayeyarwady are starving, so some have decided to starve in their homes rather than starve in other places.

DMG: How is the situation for people who have fled Gwa Township?

Most residents have fled to Ayeyarwady. Things are harder for people who didn't bring their household registration certificates or money. They only fled to survive.

I heard many displaced Gwa residents have no shelter or food and they are not allowed to enter villages. They don't have warm clothes and receive little assistance. Locals charge them higher prices for goods, and there is also discrimination against them. Those who can afford to have proceeded to Yangon, and those who can't want to return to Gwa.

DMG: What else do you want to say?

Ann is nearly about to fall. The regime knows that the AA will come to Gwa in full force when Ann falls. That's why they have heavily reinforced Gwa from the land routes. Gwa borders mainland Myanmar, so the regime will lose face if it loses the town. The regime is therefore making intense efforts to retain Gwa.

Despite the junta's defence, the AA will continue to pursue its 2025 dream. With the junta suffering consecutive defeats, the liberation of the entire Arakan seems almost certain.