Police outpost in Rathedaung Twsp attacked

By Kyaw Myo Aung 13 Jun 2020

Kyaw Myo Aung | DMG
13 June, Rathedaung 

A police outpost near Done Paik village in Arakan State’s Rathedaung Township was attacked just before dawn on June 13, according to residents. 

“I got up from bed after hearing gunfire from the police outpost at about 5 a.m. I woke my child and wife up and we hid in the bomb shelter. The gunfight stopped at around 6 a.m. We fled the village because we dared not stay in the village,” Ko Aung Thein Tun from Done Paik village said. 

Rathedaung Township administrator U Aung Myint Thein confirmed the attack on the Done Paik police outpost, but said he did not have any additional details. 

“I heard the police outpost was attacked, but I don’t know exactly as to whether the police outpost was seized by the assailants or not,” he said. “The police said its outpost in Done Paik was captured, but the Tatmadaw’s Western Command said the attack on the police outpost in Done Paik village came at dawn, with the police reportedly fighting a large number of fighters. I don’t know how to confirm the news.”  

Following the clash many residents of Done Paik village, which consists of about 300 households, fled to nearby villages. 

While local speculation on Saturday coalesced around a presumption that the Arakan Army (AA) was behind the assault on the Done Paik outpost, neither the military nor the ethnic armed group have yet to issue an official statement regarding the incident. 

DMG phoned the Tatmadaw True News Information Team seeking comment on the police outpost attack, but was unable to connect with any military spokesperson. 

A gunfight erupted between members of a local Border Guard Force and AA soldiers near Done Paik village on May 2, leaving two BGF members injured.