High-ranking military officer killed in Maungdaw

By Admin 19 Dec 2024

DMG Newsroom
19 December 2024, Mrauk-U

The Arakkha Army (AA) said it seized the body of Colonel Aung Nay Myo, the acting commander of the 22nd Light Infantry Division based in Karen State’s Hpa-an Township, who fled Border Guard Force Battalion No. 5 in Maungdaw following an AA offensive there.

Colonel Aung Nay Myo was found dead around noon on Tuesday inside a hut at a shrimp farm near Keppakaung Creek in Shwezar Village in rural Maungdaw Township along with gold bars, gold items, and approximately 80 million kyats, the AA said.

The AA reported that he was attempting to flee into Bangladesh but could not due to a blockade by AA troops. The colonel died of blood loss after he stepped on a landmine planted by local border guard police, according to the AA.

There have been previous instances of junta soldiers fleeing to Bangladesh to escape AA offensives.

The AA has said it is pursuing junta soldiers who fled in disarray after the fall of Border Guard Force No. 5, the last junta battalion defending Maungdaw, on December 8.

One Maungdaw resident said: “I can still hear frequent gunshots till today in Maungdaw. Some junta soldiers, Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), Arakan Rohingya Army (ARA) and Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) managed to flee along with their weapons. The AA is pursuing them as they can harm locals.”

Although the AA has captured Maungdaw Township, locals still fear attacks from ARSA, ARA, and RSO.