Fleeing junta forces accused of harming locals in Maungdaw Twsp

By Admin 13 Dec 2024

DMG Newsroom
13 December 2024, Maungdaw

Fleeing regime troops are accused of harming residents after the Arakkha Army (AA) this week captured Border Guard Force Battalion No. 5, the last junta battalion to fall into the ethnic armed group's hands in Maungdaw.

A resident was injured after a junta soldier fleeing Border Guard Force Battalion No. 5 threw a grenade at villagers near the lake in front of Maungdaw Township's Kanthayar Village on Thursday evening.

"We are also taking care of our safety. I don't know where the junta soldiers are," said a local man in Maungdaw Township.

The AA overran Border Guard Force Battalion No. 5 in Maungdaw on December 8, claiming complete control of Maungdaw Township in doing so despite the junta mounting a fierce defence that included army, navy and air forces.

Fleeing junta soldiers and Muslim militiamen from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) and Arakan Rohingya Army (ARA) are being hunted down by the AA, the ethnic armed group said.

Junta soldiers and Muslim armed men are said to be fleeing to locations including villages where they believe they will be able to avoid the AA dragnet.

"Junta soldiers and Muslim armed men ran away with weapons, and even if they met AA fighters, they would attack again, so the security of the locals is of more concern," said a source on the ground close to the AA.

The AA announced that it had indefinitely banned navigation of the Naf River on December 8, as Muslim armed groups fighting alongside junta soldiers were attempting to escape in boats via the river, which forms part of the border between Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Border guards and coast guard personnel from Bangladesh are increasing patrols along the border due to the current situation in the Maungdaw region.