Regime shelling kills six civilians in Thandwe Twsp village

By Admin 12 Aug 2024

DMG Newsroom
12 August 2024, Thandwe

Six local people were reportedly killed in a junta artillery attack in Thandwe Township, Arakan State, where fighting between the military and Arakkha Army (AA) is escalating, on Saturday.

An artillery shell fired by the military’s Maung Shwe Lay naval base landed and exploded in Thitkauk Village on August 10, killing six villagers who were taking refuge at the village’s monastery.

“A mortar shell fired by the Maung Shwe Lay naval base fell and exploded in the compound of a village monastery. Some people who remain in the village are taking shelter at the village monastery due to ongoing fighting. Some people were also injured in the regime shelling. I don’t know exactly the number of people injured due to communication difficulties,” said a resident of Thandwe.

Thitkauk Village is located about 2 miles from the Maung Shwe Lay naval base and most residents fled to safer locations after the AA seized the military’s Thandwe-based battalions, but some have stayed behind in the village to guard their properties.

The AA seized two junta battalions as well as Thandwe Town, its airport and the Ngapali hotel zone in Thandwe Township last month, and the ethnic armed group continues to attack the Maung Shwe Lay naval base, the last major junta position in the township.

Fighting remains fierce as the regime has responded to the AA’s offensive with aerial and naval support in an attempt to prevent the Maung Shwe Lay naval base from being seized.

“The regime is killing civilians every day across the country. The regime no longer differentiates between the battle zone and civilian areas, and is conducting arbitrary attacks. I think the regime is not accepting military defeat and is causing harm to the people,” said a human rights activist in Arakan State.

Nearly 160 civilian casualties were reported due to junta gunshots, shellings, airstrikes, and landmine blasts during some four months of fighting in Thandwe Township, according to a DMG tally.