AA-military clashes force thousands of Maungdaw Twsp residents to flee

By Admin 29 Nov 2023

DMG Newsroom
29 November 2023, Maungdaw

Thousands of local people from at least 10 villages in Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, have fled to safer locations due to military tensions between the military and Arakan Army (AA).

Thousands of locals from several villages such as Ngwetaung, Shwetaung, Thayargon, Magyigon, Zaytan, Ywathayar, Lay Mile, Thazi, Waithali, Shwebaho and Kainggyi have fled to safer locations.

Fierce fighting erupted after the AA launched an attack on a Border Guard Force outpost near Bawdigon Village on the Angumaw-Maungdaw road on the morning of November 28.

The AA occupied the BGF outpost in the evening, locals said.

“Local people from nearby areas fled to safer locations before the AA attacked the BGF outpost. Only young people remain in the village,” said a local man from Shwebaho Village.

Residents fled to safer locations as junta soldiers fired heavy weapons and small arms fire into the villages, locals said.

An elderly man was killed and a teenage girl was injured after mortar shells from Mawrawati base landed and exploded in Kainggyi Village, part of Maungdaw Township, on November 25. A local man from Aungthukha Village was injured after he was shot by BGF members from a base in Inndin Village on November 27.

“The fighting was fierce yesterday. We heard the sounds of heavy weapons and small arms fires until 9 p.m.,” said a resident in Maungdaw. “We don’t hear gunfire today. The AA reportedly seized the BGF outpost in Bawdigon Village and we saw the camp burning.”

DMG continues to attempt to contact U Khaing Thukha, spokesman for the ULA/AA, regarding the AA’s seizure of the BGF outpost.

The AA attacked a BGF outpost near Kainggyi Village at around 8:20 a.m. on November 25, and fierce clashes were reported thereafter as the military fired mortar shells.

“We have been staying at our relative’s home for four days. As locals engage in farming, vegetables are not scarce, but we face shortages of rice and medicine. We will face greater hardships if the routes are closed for a long time,” said a local man from Kainggyi Village.

The Arakan Army has occupied four BGF outposts within the first 16 days of the latest hostilities in Arakan State.