Schools close as conflict flares anew in Arakan State

By Admin 13 Nov 2023

DMG Newsroom
13 November 2023, Sittwe

Renewed fighting between Myanmar’s military regime and the Arakan Army (AA) has prompted the closure of several schools in Rathedaung, Minbya, Ponnagyun, Kyauktaw and Mrauk-U townships, according to residents.

In response to AA attacks on multiple junta positions in Arakan State on Monday, the Myanmar military fired artillery shells that landed in and around villages, leading to school closures out of both precaution and necessity. Schools were closed in at least 11 villages in Rathedaung Township alone.

“All the residents have fled Donpaik,” said U Ba Myaing, a resident of Donpaik Village, where the AA attacked a Border Guard Force (BGF) outpost in the early hours of November 13. “There is no one left at the village. Teachers have also fled to safe places and left the school closed.”

A resident of Rathedaung Township’s Cheinkalein Village, where another BGF outpost was attacked by AA troops on Monday morning, said: “We can’t flee to other villages. We can only flee into the forests. We have taken all the children. The school was closed.”

Schools and shops were also shuttered in Rathedaung town due to the shelling and gunfire, said residents. Schools were closed in Mrauk-U as well as junta troops allegedly opened fire indiscriminately on a group of civilian motorists.

Schools were closed in at least six villages in Minbya Township, after the AA ambushed a junta convoy there. The attack took place near Phetharpyin and Hparpyo villages, along the Yangon-Sittwe road.

“All the schools have been closed. Some residents have already fled to safer places,” said U Kyaing Thar, a resident of Hparpyo Village.

The hostilities in Rathedaung and Minbya townships were predicted by many amid speculation that a “western front” to the anti-junta armed resistance movement might open in Arakan State after the Three Brotherhood Alliance, of which the AA is a member, launched an offensive late last month in Shan State, with the stated aim of toppling Myanmar’s military regime.