Three civilians were killed and five injured on Saturday in Rakhine State’s Kyaukphyu Township as junta forces pushed the anti-junta Arakan Army (AA) out of two villages it had been occupying, local sources said.
A drone strike hit the village of Gaw Du some six miles south of Kyaukphyu at around 2pm, killing two adults and injuring five people between 24 and 65 years old, according to a resident of the township.
“In Kyaukphyu, the military drops bombs every day. There’s constant shelling with heavy artillery,” the resident said.
Earlier the same afternoon, around 12:30, junta troops entered and set fires in the village Thapyu Taung, leaving several homes gutted by fire.
The local news outlet Arakan Princess Media, which is closely connected the AA and its political wing the United League of Arakan, also reported that junta naval vessels shelled the village of Leik Kha Maw some five miles southwest of Kyaukphyu on the Bay of Bengal last Thursday, killing a resident in his 40s.
Intense clashes have driven the AA out of villages near the Police Battalion 32 station in Kyaukphyu Township, including Leik Kha Maw and Pyar Te on the Ramree-Kyaukphyu road.
Attempts to reach local residents for further details about conditions on the frontlines were unsuccessful due to the widespread failure of phone and internet connections in Rakhine State, where the military has cut off routes and means of communication to isolate the AA.
While no fighting has occurred in the town of Kyaukphyu itself, battles are raging in the surrounding rural areas and villages, according to a local man. They said they had heard the sounds of artillery fire for days until the guns finally went quiet on Monday.
“The situation in Kyaukphyu remains the same,” the local man said. “The fighting is quite far from Kyaukphyu town, very far away. Nothing is happening inside. What’s happening now is in the Min Pyin, Yaynan Taung areas, those parts of the township.” .
Myanmar Now sent queries to AA spokesperson Khaing Thukha regarding the group’s loss of the two villages it had been holding but has not yet received a response.
Posts on pro-junta propaganda channels on social media claimed last week that the military had retaken Pyar Te and Leik Kha Maw and were now using unmanned drones anto assault the village of Ku Lar Bar around two miles to the south.
Kyaukphyu Township is home to an airport and Myanmar’s largest military port, the Dhanyawadi Naval Base, as well as multibillion-dollar infrastructure development projects with significant backing from Chinese investors. The town had a population of more than 160,000 in 2019.
After launching an offensive against the military in November 2023, the AA seized 14 of Rakhine State’s 17 townships, leaving only Manaung Township, Kyaukphyu, and the state capital Sittwe in the junta’s hands.
The AA has previously declared that it aims to take control of Rakhine State in its entirety.
It is unclear to what degree the Chinese government, which has pressured other anti-junta armed groups into observing ceasefires and has an interest in protecting its investments in Rakhine State, has been able to influence the Arakan Army during the offensive.
The AA has also launched attacks on military bases outside of Rakhine State, particularly across the state’s borders with Magway, Bago, and Ayeyarwady regions. AA fighters issued a statement claiming to have killed 20 army personnel and seized weapons and ammunition in Magway Region’s Ngape Township.
In public statements, the AA has given no indication of deviating from the goal of capturing all of Rakhine State, and claims to be planning further offensive operations targeting urban areas.
