The Arakan Army (AA) will avenge the deaths of six of their members killed in a junta bombing of one of their outposts in Karen State on Monday, a spokesperson for the ethnic armed organisation said.
Two Myanmar army jets shelled the base on the Salween River in Mutraw (Hpapun) District, an area controlled by the Karen National Liberation Army’s (KNLA) Brigade 5. Several buildings, including a clinic, were destroyed, the AA said in a statement on Tuesday.
Typically operating in Rakhine and southern Chin State, the AA also maintains a presence in the territory of its allies, including that of the KNLA in Karen State and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in Kachin and northern Shan states.
The deceased in Monday’s airstrike were identified as privates from western Myanmar between the ages of 20 and 30. Among them were Kyaw Oo Hlaing and Nay Zaw Oo from Rathedaung Township, Kyaw San Htay from Ponnagyun, Bo Than Kyaw from Kyauktaw, Zarni Win from Myebon, and Tun Tun Lin from Paletwa in Chin State, according to the AA statement.
AA spokesperson Khaing Thukha told Myanmar Now on Monday evening that his organisation was carrying out an investigation into why the base was bombed.
“We need to know if they launched this attack on purpose. We are investigating why they did it. We will take necessary action depending what we find,” he said.
The group’s statement alleged that the junta jets had entered Thai airspace after the bombing, but Myanmar Now was unable to independently verify the accusation.
Myanmar military aircraft trespassed into Thai territory in Tak Province last week after bombing KNLA targets near the border in southern Myawaddy Township. The incident prompted Thailand’s air force to deploy their own jets on patrol and to file a complaint with Myanmar junta officials.
In Rakhine State, dozens of people have been detained in recent weeks in connection with the suspected abduction of junta troops in Sittwe, Kyauktaw, Ponnagyun and Mrauk-U townships, allegedly by the AA.
The AA was formed in 2009 in Laiza, Kachin State, where the KIA’s headquarters are located. In November 2014, more than 20 people, including cadets from other allied ethnic armed organisations, were killed when the military shelled a KIA training academy in Laiza. Among them were eight AA members.
