Junta Forces Set Fire to Lone Village Near Ann Town during intensify fighting with AA

Min Shin Saw, Narinjara News, 22 October 2024

Early on October 21, amid intense combat with AA, junta forces shelled Lone hamlet, which lies close to Ann Town and serves as the base of the junta's Western Command. Junta soldiers entered the village and set it on fire after the artillery barrage.

According to a displaced person from Lone village who talked to Narinjara News, Lone village, which is next to Ann Creek and has 254 dwellings, is the closest village to the junta's Supply and Transport Corps, which is about two miles from the Western Command.

"They started the village on fire after firing artillery shells this morning. Over 100 junta soldiers, all from the Supply and Transport Corps, were present. Now the whole community is a pile of ashes. We have not been able to get in touch with the people who stayed behind to take care of their properties yet. They might have been slain, I worry. Since the fight of Nat Taung, many of the village's youth have left," a displaced resident stated.

The combat between the Arakan Army (AA) and the junta forces at Nat Taung has resulted in the displacement of nearly the whole community.

Lone village was set on fire by junta soldiers who entered it in the early hours of October 21. It is unclear what happened to the elderly people who stayed behind to take care of their dwellings.

A local social worker from Ann said she was deeply saddened for the people of Lone hamlet, whose homes were set on fire by the junta troops as they escaped the fighting to take sanctuary with family. 

"They have lost their house. They cannot remain in someone else's home indefinitely. Having a home enables people to live with their families and work from home, regardless of their financial situation. Hearing that their homes were torched in this manner is devastating," he remarked.

Pyaung Chaung and Zar Di Maw, two communities close to the military camp, have also been told to evacuate by the junta's Western Command. Residents are therefore afraid that while they are away, junta forces would infiltrate these settlements and set them on fire.

In addition to losing the war in Arakan and killing civilians with bombings, the junta is also using its bombardment to damage highways, bridges, temples, pagodas, schools, monasteries, and other buildings throughout Arakan State.