Several stalls reduced to ashes in junta drone attack on Sanae Town

By Admin 10 May 2024

DMG Newsroom
10 May 2024, Kyaukphyu

A junta drone attack on Sanae Town, part of Arakan State’s Kyaukphyu Township, reportedly reduced at least 10 stalls to ashes on Thursday morning.

The junta attacked positions near Sanae market and the bus station with drones at least six times from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 9, a local man said.

“The junta used two drones to drop bombs on Sanae. At least 10 stalls were burned to the ground in the junta drone attack and the fire was completely put out at around 3:30 p.m. No casualties were reported in the junta drone attack,” the local man explained.

A junta drone attack on a bazaar in Sanae Town killed a local woman, wounded three others and destroyed seven stalls on the morning of May 8.

Fear pervades daily life due to the repeated junta shellings, airstrikes and drone attacks on Sanae Town and nearby villages since early April, locals said.

“The junta has been attacking Sanae Town in various ways since early April. We hear the sounds of bombs on a daily basis. Local people live in fear and anxiety,” said a local woman.

Many residents in Sanae Town have fled to safer locations. The junta’s Taung Maw Gyi naval base and warships docked near Zinchaung Village fired mortar shells and launched drone attacks on residential areas.

“Most residents in Sanae Town have fled to safer locations due to the junta’s drone attacks and shellings. Only a few people remain in the town,” said a local man in Sanae.

Thousands of local people in Sanae and from a dozen villages such as Dwaycha, Kyaukse, Hinkhayaypyin, Aledwein, Taungmaw and Awataung have fled to safer locations due to the junta’s shellings and drone attacks.

At least 30 homes in Dwaycha Village near Sanae Town were destroyed after a mortar shell fired by junta troops fell and exploded in the village on April 21.

A local was killed and two others were injured after the regime carried out airstrikes on Thitkatoe and Layponekyauk villages near Sanae Town on April 25.

Customary international humanitarian law requires any armed organisation to protect civilians and bars them from attacking, abducting or using civilians as human shields or targeting civilian dwellings.

The military regime, which has faced defeat after military defeat in Arakan State, is increasingly targeting towns and villages, causing civilian casualties to rise steadily in recent months.