Hundreds flee as Myanmar navy opens fire on coastal village in southern Rakhine State

A Myanmar naval vessel opened fire on a village on the coast of Rakhine State’s Kyaukphyu Township late Sunday night, forcing hundreds of people to flee, according to local sources. A resident of Zin Chaung, a village about 30 miles south of the town of Kyaukphyu, told Myanmar Now that seven artillery shells were fired in the incident, damaging at least one house. “It happened in the middle of the night, so everybody just ran in a panic, thinking there would be more shelling or even airstrikes,” said Hla Phyu (not her real name), a woman living in the village. There were no confirmed casualties at the time of reporting. Zin Chaung is located just 20 miles from the administrative centre of neighbouring Ramree Township, which has been nearly demolished by junta forces since late last year amid fierce clashes there between the military and the Arakan Army (AA). Despite its proximity to the conflict zone, residents of Zin Chaung said this was the first time the village had been targeted. There had been no fighting in the area before the attack, they added. The AA has waged a major offensive in Rakhine State since mid-November of last year, seizing control of six towns in the northern part of the state, as well as Paletwa in southern Chin State. The group has vowed to take full control of Rakhine State. There have been reports that the AA has already taken effective control of Ramree, but the group has yet to release a statement confirming this information. Meanwhile, there were also reports that villages near Lay Taung, a town about 10 miles south of Zin Chaung, have also come under attack from both air and sea. These assaults on communities previously spared from direct involvement in the conflict are likely to intensify the hardships of people living on Ramree Island, leaving them with fewer and fewer places to escape the fighting. Until Sunday, Zin Chaung had attracted displaced locals seeking medical care or basic necessities unavailable elsewhere. Now that its residents have also been forced to flee, they say there is nowhere left for them to go. “We’re hoping that we’ll be safe in the forest for the time being, because other villages, which are already full of people fleeing from the fighting, could be targeted next,” said Hla Phyu. At present, at least 90 percent of the village’s inhabitants are believed to have fled. A monk who is among the handful who have stayed behind noted that the house that had been hit was next to the village’s hospital. “I think they were actually targeting the hospital, but missed,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. He added that it was unclear how he and others still in the village would survive. “I was told they would send food for today, but we have no idea what will happen tomorrow.” Hla Phyu said the situation was reaching the point where civilians were no longer able to assist each other. “We’re becoming completely helpless. Soon we won’t be able to rely on each other as we did before,” she said. Noting that she has seen warplanes flying overhead and navy boats docked nearby, she added that she feared the worst was yet to come. “War is the last thing we want,” she said. “I am really afraid that we are going to face even more problems just trying to stay alive.”

Hundreds flee as Myanmar navy opens fire on coastal village in southern Rakhine State

It was the first time the village had been targeted, residents said, adding that there had been no fighting in the area before the attack

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