- Web Master
- September 19, 2024
Salai Moe Aung, Narinjara News, 17
August 2024
The junta forces arrested more than 60 local residents,
including women, from three villages under Gwa township in Arakan State
amid intensified fighting after the Arakan Army (AA) offensive. The
arrests took place in Kular Pyin, Zee Kone and Taing Kyoe villages.
On the afternoon of 15 August, the soldiers from
563rd light infantry battalion, a junta unit in the area, entered these
villages and detained the residents without showing any reason.
“I don’t know why they were
arrested. A group of soldiers came into Kular Pyin village and arrested
many residents. They also arrested some people from Zee Kone and Taing Kyoe
villages,” said a local resident. The family members are worried about their
whereabouts till now.
Mentionable is that soon after the
AA fighters launched an offensive against the junta soldiers stationed at the
Kyeintali town entry point on 10 August by 3 pm that was followed by a fierce
fighting.
A large number of civilians were also detained
following the escalation of military tension. On 11 August, the AA fighters
targeted the police station and fortified junta military camps in Kyeintali.
The fighting continued till 10 am of 12 August.
The junta's army, navy and
air force personnel used artillery shelling heavily, but they suffered
casualties and finally retreated on 14 August.
After their retreat too, the junta soldiers continued
to fire artillery shells over Kyeintali town from Tha Yet Taung pagoda
near Kyway Chai village till the afternoon of 15 August.
Gwa is located in the
southernmost part of Arakan State and adjacent to the Ayeyarwady region. It’s
home to the junta's 562nd and 563rd light infantry battalions.