The Arakan Army (AA) claims that the Myanmar Army used chemical gas bombs during the battle the ethnic army has been waging since 14 November to capture the strategic hills of Tarunaing and Hnome Bu in Paletwa Township, Chin State.
Currently, the AA’s offensive is intensifying while the Myanmar Army’s defense has also reached its peak. On 3 December, the military council carried out more than 30 airstrikes using fighter jets, Mi 35, Y 8 and Y 12 aircraft, the AA statement said.
The statement also said the military council used chemical warfare bombs and attacked with a fighter jet on 3 December.
There are fears that the number of civilian casualties could rise due to the use of chemical bombs.
A local from Paletwa said: “The fighting could affect the remaining civilian population in the area.”
In Paletwa Township, the military has cut road and internet connections, and due to poor telephone connections, it is difficult to get timely information from the combat areas.
In recent days, four residents of the villages of Tarunaing and Ahhtetmeezar have been killed and at least 13 others injured by military airstrikes.
Political analysts have stated that the use of internationally banned chemical weapons by the military amounts to a war crime against the population.
Veteran Arakanese politician U Pe Than said: “The use of chemical and biological weapons is internationally banned. Attacks just to win battles, regardless of who lives or dies, are not acceptable. It is clearly against international law. The use of such chemical bombs is tantamount to a blatant war crime and must therefore be condemned. It must be exposed internationally.”
On 23 November, the military attacked Namsalat Hill in Theinni Township in northern Shan State with four chemical bombs – an area recently captured by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), causing some MNDAA soldiers to feel dizzy and vomit.
A statement issued by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) on November 19 said that the military attacked with poison gas bombs after its troops captured the new base in Theinni. The statement also said that poison gas bombs had been used during the storming of the Monekyet outpost in the municipality of Lashio on 4 November.
The military spokesperson Major General Zaw Min Tun firmly rejected the allegations of chemical bomb attacks: “There were no chemical attacks in any of the battles, only false accusations”
Since 13 November, fighting has intensified across Arakan State, with indiscriminate military attacks, arrests and the burning of urban neighborhoods and villages, as well as the displacement of civilians.
“The military council, which has suffered setbacks from all sides, is constantly committing war crimes such as airstrikes, artillery shelling, arson and destruction of civilian areas, as well as killing and arresting civilians,” the AA statement said.
Sent by DMG.