August 22nd, 2022
Fighting between the Arakan Army (AA) and military council troops continues fiercely in northern Maungdaw township in Rakhine State and Paletwa township in Chin State. According to reports, the AA has captured some military council camps in Paletwa.
Fighting between the two sides also broke out in Paletwa township on August 20th and 21st, and is now continuing near Thuhtaykone village until the morning of August 22nd, according to local residents.
“The fighting was fierce until 7 or 8 p.m. last night. It has been raining very heavily for the past few days. This morning there was fighting again from about 4 am. We heard gunfire until about 8 in the morning. Now it has calmed down,” said a local resident.
In the fighting near Thuhtaykone village, the AA captured the entire ridge east of the village, including three military council camps, and captured about 20 junta soldiers, according to a source close to the AA.
“We have heard that they [AA] have taken control of the entire ridge east of Thuhtaykone village. They have also captured three small and large junta camps and about 20 soldiers there,” the person said.
In addition, the military council reportedly suffered 40 casualties in fighting with the AA on August 20th and 21st, while the AA also suffered a small number of casualties.
Narinjara News was unable to independently confirm the number of casualties as the Military Council spokesperson could not be reached for comment.
Locals also said the two sides clashed near Meetaik and Taungpyo villages on the morning of August 22nd.
“Fighting between the two sides broke out around 5 a.m. Until 10 a.m., we heard continuous gunfire from small arms and heavy weapons. Now we only hear three or four gunshots about every half hour,” a local woman said by phone.
Clashes between the two sides also reportedly occurred near Taungpyo village on the morning of August 21st.
A series of resurgent battles between AA and military council troops have occurred in Rathedaung, Maungdaw and Paletwa Township this month. Since the current fighting is territorial, it could become more intense than the earlier ones, say military analysts in Rakhine State.
Because the current fighting areas are close to the border with Bangladesh and are strategically important, the two armies are engaged in fierce battles to bring these areas under their control, analysts said.
Sent by Khaing Lu Hla (Yoma Land)