Two civilians killed, three injured by junta attacks in Thandwe, Kyaukphyu

By Admin 11 Jul 2024

DMG Newsroom
11 July 2024, Thandwe

Two civilians were killed and three others were injured in junta artillery and air attacks in Arakan State’s Thandwe and Kyaukphyu townships on July 10.

A woman was killed and three others were injured in a junta artillery strike on Kyaukseik Village, Thandwe Township, on Wednesday.

“The regime fired mortar shells into Kyaukseik without any fighting in the area. One civilian was killed and three others were injured in the artillery attack. That’s all I can say at the moment due to communication difficulties,” said a local resident.

Fighting between the military and Arakkha Army (AA) is escalating in Thandwe Township as the ethnic armed group is ramping up an offensive against on the military’s Light Infantry Battalion No. 55.

Local residents accused regime troops deployed at Thandwe Prison of firing mortar shells into some villages on July 7.

“We hear gunfire on a daily basis. The regime also responds to the AA’s attack with aerial and artillery support,” said another Thandwe resident.

Fighting has been raging in Thandwe Township for nearly three months, since the AA launched an assault on junta positions in the township on April 13. Civilian casualties have surpassed 130 due to the regime’s airstrikes and artillery attacks in Thandwe Township.

Meanwhile, a local man was killed in a junta attack on Sabeichaung Village, Kyaukphyu Township, on July 10.

The regime launched the attack on a civilian area without there being any fighting in the vicinity, near Sanae Town, locals said.

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

The military and AA have not yet had a serious battle in Kyaukphyu Township, but the regime has been conducting artillery attacks and airstrikes on civilian areas.

At least 42 civilians were killed and 94 others were injured by junta gunshots, shellings, airstrikes, landmine blasts and torture at interrogation centres in Arakan State last month, according to a DMG tally.