Civilian deaths rise in Gwa Twsp due to junta attacks

19 Sep 2024

DMG Newsroom
19 September 2024, Gwa

With fighting between the Myanmar military and Arakkha Army (AA) escalating in Gwa Township, Arakan State, civilian casualties are on the rise.

Four civilians were killed and 10 others were injured in junta artillery attacks and airstrikes so far this month, according to a DMG tally.

Two local residents were killed and seven others including some children were injured in a junta airstrike on Pauktu Village in Gwa Township on September 16.

The deceased have been identified as Daw Than Kywe, 82, and Ko Aung Hsan Oo, 32. The injured included children ages 17, 15, and two 13-year-olds.

"The junta began to target and kill innocent people as it was unable to fight the anti-regime forces," said a youth in Gwa.

A woman was killed and three others were injured on Sunday in a junta artillery attack on a school in Sandar Village, Gwa Township, where internally displaced people (IDPs) are taking refuge.

U Maung Htwe, an 85-year-old man, was killed in a regime airstrike on Doetangyi Village in Gwa Township on September 3.

Residents in Gwa Township are concerned about the threat of artillery attacks and airstrikes as the regime increasingly targets civilian settlements in non-combat areas.

"Some people who fled to mainland Myanmar do not need to be afraid of the junta airstrikes. Local residents in Gwa are worried about the junta artillery attacks. We cannot ignore the regime's airstrikes," said a local woman.

Fighting between the military and AA began in Gwa Township on August 8. The ethnic armed group seized control of Gwa Township's Kyeintali Town five days later.

Shortages of basic commodities are reported in Gwa Township, with local people facing scarcities of food, medicines and other essentials due to junta blockades.