Regime troops’ presence in rural Rathedaung unsettles residents for a second day

By DMG 19 Jul 2022

DMG Newsroom
19 July 2022, Rathedaung 

Villagers fled in fear and some shopkeepers in Rathedaung Township shuttered their businesses after nearly 100 junta troops showed up near Pyarchaunggyi village on Tuesday morning. 

Some residents from the villages of Pyarchaunggyi, Pyinkaung and Ale Ywar Chay, and Nga Tauk Tu Chay displacement camp, fled to nearby villages, and several shops in Rathedaung also closed, according to residents. 

“Locals are concerned that fresh clashes will break out,” a Rathedaung resident told DMG. 

Unsettling junta troop movements were also reported on Monday in and around Pyarchaunggyi village. The soldiers returned to their battalion headquarters in Rathedaung town on Monday evening, but were once again reported near the village on Tuesday. 

“All are concerned that a renewed clash might happen,” said Daw Ma Khin Yin from Pyarchaunggyi village. “We will have to leave behind all our livelihoods if clashes happen. We don’t want to be forced into a displacement camp.” 

Two clashes erupted between junta troops and the Arakan Army (AA) in northern Maungdaw Township on Monday, and military tensions have been running high in Arakan State for months.  

“If the Myanmar military continues to make an assault, new clashes can happen anytime anywhere,” AA spokesman U Khaing Thukha told DMG. 

Meanwhile, residents in Arakan State have faced difficulties for weeks due to the Myanmar military’s tightening of security checks and restrictions on travel. 

The military and Arakan Army have largely observed an unofficial ceasefire since November 2020, following some two years of often-intense conflict. But a handful of clashes have taken place between the two sides so far this year, including Monday’s fighting, in which the Arakan Army claims to have taken more than a dozen junta security personnel captive.