Residents reportedly fear a resumption of fighting after the Myanmar army fired small and heavy weapons at the advanced regional military school No. 9 near Kanni village in Minbya Township, Arakan State, from 6 to 8 June.
“They fired shots for three days in a row. We heard shots from both small and heavy weapons. They also fired shots at night. I don’t know why they did this. The villagers are worried that the fighting might flare up again,” said a Kanni resident who wished to remain anonymous.
Residents of Maw Lwan village in Mibya Township also reported hearing more than ten shots from both small and heavy weapons.
A woman from the village said she was concerned about a possible resumption of fighting, as they had been forced to seek safety in nearby villages due to fighting between the Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar army in the past.
“We also had to flee to Pauktaw and Myebon because of the fighting in the past. They bombed the surrounding areas of the village with planes. We are worried because now they are also firing heavy weapons. I don’t want the fighting to resume,” she said.
In 2020, fighting broke out after the AA attacked the Myanmar Army’s No. 9 training school. Fighting intensified to the point that the junta had to respond with bombardments from aircraft.
It has been more than six months since the military council and the AA agreed to a ceasefire on humanitarian grounds in November 2022.
Political analysts say the regime’s army fired small and heavy weapons to scare the public.
“As far as we know, the Myanmar army used to inform the public before conducting this kind of military training. This time, they did not inform the people. They scared the public. They shouldn’t have done such a thing,” said Arakanese political analyst U Pe Than.
DGM reached out to Arakan State Minister for Security and Border Affairs Col. Kyaw Thura for comment on the matter, but has not received a response.
A meeting between the military council and the Northern Alliance, which includes AA, in Mongla in northern Shan State-an area under the control of the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA)-on 1-2 June produced no significant results. Then came the recent gunfire by the junta army, which heightened the interest of the people in Arakan.
Sent by DMG.