Myanmar military junta's 540th light infantry battalion, stationed in Mrauk-Uof Rakhine State, launched artillery shells on the ancient Rakhine city ofMrauk-U at 11:30 am on Wednesday, said a statement issued by Three BrotherhoodAlliance.

The statement claimed that the soldiers, even though they were aware of the Mrauk-U cultural area's proposed World Heritage listing,deliberately fired six rounds of artillery shells on Nandawyar Gon (palace mound), which is regarded as a cultural hub to the Rakhine people.

“Such actions constitute a deliberate act of destroying invaluable culturalheritage, amounting to a war crime,” stated Three Brotherhood Alliance.

Mrauk-U was the capital city lasting for 354 years (from AD 1430 to AD 1784),but tragically it was set ablaze during the invasion of Burmese kingBodawpaya's troops. Furthermore, historical accounts suggest that the palace mound was flattened by cutting down the surrounding mountains.

The current military regime has been destroying the invaluable ancient heritageof the Rakhine people intentionally. In a recent attack, they evenfired artillery shells at the archaeological museum located on
the palace mound, resulting in the destruction of sculptures and pricelessstone inscriptions.

On 10 January,  several artillery shells fired by the 540th light infantrybattalion exploded at Aung Tat ward of Mrauk-U township. It caused damages toseveral houses and one local resident sustained injuries from the shrapnel.

The junta's 540th light infantry battalion, stationed in Mrauk-U, intentionallylaunched artillery shells over the urban wards. It resulted in complete destruction of two residential houses by fire near Wah Zee bridge in Wah Zeeward of  Mrauk-U township.