Junta, armed militiamen torch homes in Maungdaw Twsp village again

By Admin 14 Jul 2024

DMG Newsroom
14 July 2024, Maungdaw

Junta soldiers and armed Muslim men reportedly burnt down some homes in Aungbala Village, part of northern Arakan State's Maungdaw Township, on the morning of July 14, the second such instance in less than a week.

A coalition force consisting of about 100 junta soldiers and members of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), Arakan Rohingya Army (ARA) and Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO) entered Aungbala Village and set fire to at least five homes on Sunday morning, a source told DMG.

"At least five homes were set on fire at around 11 a.m. on July 14. Now the number of homes that have been burnt is probably higher. This is the second time homes have been reduced to ashes," the source added.

A Myanmar Navy vessel near the Kanyin Chaung economic zone also fired mortar shells into Aungbala Village on Sunday morning.

Regime troops are accused of arresting some villagers and shooting some dead, though DMG has not yet been able to independently confirm those reports.

A coalition force consisting of about 50 junta soldiers and Muslim militiamen entered Aungbala Village and torched at least 10 homes on July 11.

"Muslim armed men informed the military that the residents of that village reported to the Arakkha Army (AA), so the military targeted and set fire to that village. Villagers were forced to flee and dare not live in the village," said a Maungdaw resident.

Aungbala Village is located along the road to the Kanyin Chaung economic zone from Maungdaw Town. The village is home to hundreds of internally displaced people (IDPs) and locals, and much of the population fled following the July 11 junta arson attack.

The AA is attacking the military's Border Guard Force (BGF) Battalion No. 5 in Maungdaw's Myothugyi Ward, the only junta BGF battalion based in Maungdaw Township.