Hundreds of junta soldiers wiped out by AA, Burmese army bombard Pauk Taw

After hundreds of junta soldiers, who came to regain control over of Pauk Taw, were wiped out by the Arakan Army (AA), the Burmese army heavily bombarded the township.

The junta forces repeatedly carried out bombardment from air and also fired with heavy weapons from both the air and sea as well as fired shells from the ground.

A local resident who has been closely monitoring the situation informed that the soldiers who were stationed on the top of a pagoda were crushed by AA members. The soldiers stationed at the Pauk Taw
police station also faced the offensive. Out of  170 soldiers, over 100 were defeated, he added.

Some soldiers are hiding in concrete buildings of  Pauk Taw township. Often they vandalize the shops for taking out food items to eat.

"Many soldiers were crushed. Some were hit by AA snipers. Some ran away. Some surrendered. The army in Pauk Taw has been destroyed. Now the soldiers may bomb the city from air. They are also engaging navy personnel to  fire with large cannons. Sittwe police battalion (12) also fired many rockets,” he added.

On 1 December, the jet fighters and helicopters dropped a number of bombs on the township.

"At around 11 am on Friday, a jet fighter dropped a bomb. The Jet plane flew over the locality for two times. It dropped three  bombs. By noon, the helicopter was seen in the sky, which also dropped a bomb. Due to  heavy bomb attacks, many shops and houses caught fire,” he stated.

The AA released a video on Friday where it showed many residents were rescued from the custody of soldiers. They were used as human shields by the junta forces.

On the night of 15 November, the AA invaded and occupied the  Pauk Taw police station. Next day, about 170 soldiers and policemen were sent by Shwe Pyitan high-speed boats and  Navy vessels to regain control over it.

Soon the fighting intensified that scared thousands of the residents many of who escaped the locality.

Later, the AA members attacked the camps of soldiers in Pauk Taw township and finally rescued hundreds of the detainees.

By now hundreds of junta soldiers have been  crushed. The AA also suffers from casualties. A local source informed that despite fires in some parts of the city on 2 December, no gunshots were heard except bombing and shelling by junta forces.