Junta defector accuses regime of destroying homes, monasteries in Sittwe Twsp

By Admin 21 Jul 2025

DMG Newsroom

21 July 2025, Sittwe

A junta soldier who defected to the Arakan Army (AA) has claimed that the military regime destroyed homes and monasteries in villages near Sittwe.

Naing Win Soe, a junta soldier who defected to the AA on July 10, said in a video clip released by the AA on July 20 that he was ordered by a superior officer to enter and destroy villages while on duty in Amyint Kyun Village near Sittwe.

"With the authority of the military officers, we had to enter the villages and destroy some houses. We had to destroy everything, including the monastery. We didn't want to, but we were forced to do so," the junta defector said.

Naing Win Soe is from Kawhmu Township, Yangon Region. He was forcibly conscripted by the military regime in January 2025, and then sent to a military outpost near Amyint Kyun Village in Sittwe Township after attending military training for one and a half months.

He said that while living in the frontline area, he was oppressed by military officers and was ordered to destroy local homes and religious buildings.

A DMG investigation found many homes had been destroyed in at least 16 villages, including Amyint Kyun Village, which is controlled by the military regime, and Byaine Phyu, Wah Bo, Theintan, Yartan, Tawkan, Shwepyitha, Kyaytaw, Kyauktangyi, Kyauktanchay and Kanpyin.

"Most villages near Sittwe are now empty, with no houses left. The military regime is demolishing homes, selling some and using others to build fortifications," said a resident of Wah Bo Village.

Locals say the military regime has built large forts covering at least 4 acres - one near Kanpyin old village, one near Tawkan Village, and one in Doetankone Village - to protect the Sittwe-based regional operations command.

The military regime is also reportedly reinforcing trenches and bunkers with posts from civilian homes at military bases near Shwe Min Gan and Pardaleik, including the Sittwe-based regional operations command near Naryikan and Ywathitkay villages.

Military tensions are high in Sittwe, with the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army both reinforcing their forces and the latter surrounding the Arakan State capital.