The military has used a powerful multiple rocket launcher system during fighting in Rakhine state amid condemnation from ethnic armed groups over the use of “excessive force”.
The Tatmadaw fired its Multiple Rocket Launcher System at Arakan Army (AA) positions between Buthidaung and Rathedaung townships over the weekend, a military spokesperson told Myanmar Now.
“We used MRLS on one day… either Friday or Saturday,” said Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun, secretary of the military’s True News Information Unit.
Naing Swe Oo, an analyst with the Thayninga Institute for Strategic Studies, a pro-Tatmadaw think-tank, said this may be the first time the military has used this type of weapon in active combat.
The system is mounted on a truck and has 40 launch tubes that can be fired individually or all at once, he added, making it useful for attacking wide areas of terrain.
The Tatmadaw has systems with both 122mm and 240mm rockets, but it is unclear which was used during the weekend’s attacks, which were apparently intended to stop the AA as it tried to build new bases near a hill range.
The AA could not be reached for comment.
Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun said the artillery was aimed at the AA bases and away from villages housing civilians.
Last week the AA, along with two of its allies from the Northen Alliance, published a statement calling on the Tatmadaw to stop using “excessive force” and warning they would otherwise “take action”.
The Tatmadaw’s Western Regional Military Command said several types of artillery guns were used during the weekend’s fighting, and that the Tatmadaw is “clearing” the area after the AA retreated.
