The junta has been sending reinforcements and weapons from Ayeyarwady Region to the southernmost tip of Myanmar’s westernmost state – Rakhine’s Gwa Township – since conflict erupted there last week as the ethnic Arakan Army (AA) continues its war to drive Myanmar’s military out of the state.
The regime has started using a new road through the Arakan Mountains – which form an eastern buffer in the state – to send reinforcements from Ayeyarwady, residents of Gwa Township say.
One source saw military trucks driving from the direction of Ayeyarwady Region: “I saw armored vehicles and heavy artillery on the trucks.” Another said he saw military trucks full of junta soldiers, weapons and food supplies driving down from the Arakan Mountains over the past week. Both sources requested anonymity for security reasons.
Since launching its offensive against Myanmar’s military in November, the AA has seized almost all of northern Rakhine. Clashes erupted in southern Rakhine’s Thandwe Township in April. After Thandwe town fell in June, the AA continued advancing further south, reaching villages on the outskirts of Kyeintali town in Gwa Township in late July.
Last week, the AA captured Kyeintali town, located about 70 kilometers from Gwa town.
It recently reiterated its goal: To drive all junta troops out of the state.
Residents have been fleeing Gwa Township, including junta employees.
One resident of Gwa Township said: “People from Kyeintali and Kalarpyin village [between Kyeintali and Gwa towns] told me that Myanmar military soldiers are terrified of the AA’s combat power.”
Another Gwa resident said he saw fewer junta soldiers at checkpoints in the town because many had been sent to the frontline in an attempt to halt the AA’s advance. The source added: “Junta planes are flying [over the township] every day. They fly at lower altitudes “to monitor troops movements on the ground.”
Junta troops are attempting to make a stand at Kalarpyin village, 8 km from Kyeintali town. The troops, along with heavy artillery, are deployed along the road linking Kalarpyin village to Gwa town, residents say.
A single road that weaved through the Arakan Mountains was previously the only one linking Gwa Township with Ayeyarwady Region. Last year, the regime built a bridge across the Gwa River that completed another route along the southern coast linking Gwa with Shwe Thaung Yan Beach near Chaungtha.
The regime heavily bombed Kyeintali town after the AA captured it. Many buildings, including a public hospital and a church were damaged or destroyed. Eleven residents taking shelter at the church were killed, and 11 others injured in airstrikes on August 15, Rakhine media reported.
The regime also reportedly bombed the area around Taungup town in southern Rakhine recently even though no combat has occurred there. Buildings were damaged in the airstrikes but no fatalities were reported.
source : The Irrawaddy