Naung Min Thu, Narinjara News,9 September 2024
The Arakan Army (AA)captured the social welfare relief office & resettlement office and Banglamonastery, the last two outposts under the 5th border guard police battalion(NaKhaKha-5) in Maungdaw town Sunday morning, said a reliable military source.
“The AA commandos attackedand took control of the social welfare relief & resettlement office and Bangla monastery, which functioned as outposts in Myoma Ka Nyin Tan. Nowboth the outposts have been captured,” added the military source.
Immediately after the AAcaptured the outposts, two junta’s jet fighters arrived and conductedairstrikes near the outposts.
The junta soldiers andMuslim armed rebels, who retreated during the AA offensive on Maungdaw, tookshelter in the outposts.
“They were stronglypositioned at the outposts defending the NaKhaKha-5 base. The artilleryshelling and small arms firing could not reach them. They remained inside thebuildings and did not surrender. Later the AA commandos issued a battle cry andcaptured the outposts. All the junta soldiers were killed there,” confirmed thesource.
Since 1 September, the juntasoldiers have defended the outposts by conducting relentless airstrikes.
The junta ordered the borderguard soldiers in these outposts not to retreat. Brigadier-general Thurein Tun,commander of NaKhaKha-5 battalion, instructed them to use snipers againstanyone attempting to withdraw.
With only the NaKhaKha-5battalion remaining, the junta forces airdropped a large quantity of weaponsand other supplies to prevent the battalion from collapsing.
“At 6:30 pm on 7 September,the junta forces dropped weapons and supplies from Y-12 aircraft to theNaKhaKha-5 battalion. At four such airdrops were recorded. On the evening of 8September, they conducted another airdrop using more than 20 parachutes,” saida local witness.
The residents reported thatthe airdrops occurred on 10, 29 August and 7, 8 September last.
Photograph: the social welfare relief office and Bengla monasteryand in Kanyin Tan, an outpost of the junta forces