Junta forces desperately defending Minbya from falling to AA’s control

Minbya: Minbya township of Rakhine State is on the verge of being captured by the Arakan Army (AA) amid its offensives, where the junta forces have been  engaging in desperate attempt to defending it with a series of airstrikes.

Starting from 10 January, the AA fighters launched attacks on the junta's battalions based in Minbya locality including the 379th light infantry battalion, 380th light infantry battalion and 541st light
infantry battalion along with  Kyaing Taung-based military camp.

The intense gun fighting continues till Tuesday.

A local resident informed Narinjara News that the junta forces carried out multiple airstrikes starting from 5 am till the evening.

"The soldiers launched airstrikes using a jet fighter in the morning hours and continued air raids till the afternoon. The airstrikes persisted throughout the evening. I stopped counting the sound of airstrikes,” added the resident.

According to another resident a fire broke out at Sin Gyi Pyin village near Minbya township at approximately 8 am when Mi-35 military helicopters engaged in firing.

"At around 4 pm yesterday, we heard about intense clashes near the 379th battalion behind Kyaing Taung. The bombs were dropped not only in the battle zone but also on the entire town. Additionally,
artillery shells were fired. I observed smoke lingering from the west of Sin Gyi Pyin village for quite some time during the morning airstrikes. The soldiers are currently engaging jet fighters,” added the resident.

The residents reported that the AA achieved the upper hand over the soldiers and those battalions were on the brink of collapse. The junta forces employed devastating 500-pound bombs too.

As of now, the AA captured the 380th battalion based in Minbya. The remaining two battalions are under continuous attacks from the AA fighters.

The  junta is vigorously defending Minbya against the AA fighters by deploying the army, navy, and air force personnel.

The ongoing battle has reported a number of casualties including that of major Ko Ko Oo from the junta's 61st infantry battalion. A large number of junta soldiers fled the battalion.

Minbya township also witnesses a number of houses damaged by airstrikes and artillery shells.