Fighting strands vehicles on Yangon-Sittwe road in Mrauk-U Twsp

By Aung Htein 30 Jul 2020

Aung Htein | DMG
30 July, Mrauk-U

Traffic along a section of road between the town of Mrauk-U and Oakphawkan village in Arakan State’s Mrauk-U Township came to a standstill when a gunfight erupted between the military and Arakan Army at around 5 a.m. on July 30, with hostilities lasting about 30 minutes, according to locals.

Vehicles were stuck as the military launched what it described as “clearance operations” against the Arakan Army in the area, said the driver of a bus running between Mrauk-U and Sittwe.

Over 100 express buses commuting from Yangon to Sittwe, as well as passenger buses and trucks, are currently stranded along the road.

“We can’t go anywhere and all drivers are hungry for food. What can we do? We are now stranded on the Mrauk-U-Kyauktaw road near Waitharli village,” said another bus driver running a Yangon-Sittwe route.

Vehicles were stranded on the Mrauk-U to Kyauktaw road as of noon on July 30. An Arakan State MP for Mrauk-U Township, U Tun Thar Sein, said he had heard reports that there was a gunfight between the military and Arakan Army and that many vehicles were stranded.

Around 100 vehicles including trucks were stranded when fighting occurred between the military and the Arakan Army on the Mrauk-U-Kyauktaw road in August 2019.

Temporary traffic jams have been known to occur in the past in Mrauk-U and Minbya townships due to gunfights along the motor road, resulting in delays in the flow of commodities.

Fighting also broke out between the military and Arakan Army near Rar Maung Bridge on the Yangon-Sittwe road in Minbya Township on July 20, both sides said in statements at the time.