Fighting has intensified over the weekend near one of Myanmar’s premiere resort beaches in Rakhine state after ethnic rebels attacked three junta outposts and the military responded with multiple airstrikes, residents said.
The uptick in clashes came as the death toll of civilians killed in a military raid on a village near the state capital of Sittwe last week increased to 76, according to the ethnic Arakan Army, or AA, one of several rebel groups fighting the military junta that took control of the country in 2021.
Residents of Rakhine’s Thandwe township said that the latest round of fighting began on Sunday after the AA launched an offensive against junta outposts in Gawt, Kha Yan Maw Junction and Zee Kone villages. The outposts are near to the popular tourist destination of Ngaplai Beach – a 3-kilometer (2-mile) stretch of sand on the Indian Ocean.
“Armed clashes are intensifying near Mazin Airfield, Sapagyi and Gawt villages,” said a resident of Thandwe township who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke to RFA Burmese on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.
“The AA conducted attacks on the heavy weapon units of the junta. The [military’s] aerial attacks also took place the whole night and [Monday] morning.”
Residents said junta troops had withdrawn from the three outposts and are being stationed near Mazin Airfield, where they have received reinforcements.
During the fighting, the military responded to AA attacks with its army, navy and air force, they said, and some civilians were injured by airstrikes and shelling. Buildings at the Jasmine Ngapali Resort at the beach were also damaged in the exchange.
About 2,000 residents of Gawt, Sapagyi, Ma Zin and Kone Tan villages were forced to flee to the town of Thandwe and other safe areas, they said.
Tense in Thandwe
Since ending a ceasefire in November that had been in place during the military’s February 2021 coup d’etat, the AA now occupies nine townships in Rakhine state, as well as Paletwa township in neighboring Chin state.
The AA and military have been fighting in Thandwe township since April 22. Armed conflict began about 32 kilometers (20 miles) north of the township seat and is now within 8 kilometers (5 miles) of the urban center.
As the fighting comes closer to the township seat, thousands of civilians have fled to other areas, said another resident of Thandwe, who also declined to be named. Flights to the area have been suspended since Sunday, he added.
“Flights have been suspended, and it is not known when they will resume,” he said. “Residents of urban areas have moved to Yangon and other safer areas, although some locals are still in the town.”
Neither the junta or the AA have issued statements about the clashes and related casualties.
Attempts by RFA to telephone AA spokesman Khaing Thukha and the junta’s spokesperson for Rakhine state, Hla Thein, went unanswered Tuesday.
The AA said in a statement on Sunday said that it is “seizing the cities in Rakhine state,” and “plan to continue attacks on all the junta outposts” in Ann, Sittwe, Maungdaw, Kyaukphyu, Toungup, Thandwe, Gwa and Munaung townships.
Residents of Thandwe said that junta airstrikes and shelling have killed at least 23 civilians and injured five others between April 22 and the end of May.
Death toll rises
Also on Tuesday, the AA announced that the civilian death toll in what it labeled a "massacre" by junta troops last week in Sittwe township's Byain Phyu village had reached 76 people – up from 53 a day earlier.
About 100 soldiers began their attack on Byain Phyu on May 29, abducting villagers and allegedly beating three to death, according to residents. But violence escalated when more soldiers began arriving, according to one resident, who told RFA that two of his family members were killed after being arrested.
The AA also claimed that junta troops had committed war crimes including rape, arson and looting during the raid. The troops are still holding “thousands” of hostages, it added.
Junta spokesperson Major Gen. Zaw Min Tun told pro-junta media on Monday that the military had conducted a clearance operation in Byain Phyu on May 29 and was putting security measures into place after “drone bombs and artillery” from rebel forces in nearby Kanpyin village hit Sittwe township.
During a security check that day, three men from other villages snatched guns from junta forces and were later killed in a shootout, he added.
The anti-junta organizations Alliance of Student Unions Yangon and Student Armed Force (SAF) jointly announced on Sunday that they plan to cooperate with other rebel groups to find justice for victims.
Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.