Junta forces carry out arson attack on Sittwe’s Taw Kan village

 The  junta forces entered Taw Kan village under Sittwe township of Rakhine State this morning  and carried out an arson attack resulting in the burning of 80 houses.

A local resident informed that approximately 50 junta soldiers entered the village at around 9 am on Monday and carried out the arson attack.

"Since last night, they have been firing artillery shells and also using small arms continuously. This morning, they deployed a helicopter to devastate Taw Kan village with arson attacks. The sight of smoke rising from the village at a distance is distressing. These inhumane actions leave us at a loss for words. We had to escape with a piece of clothing only," he added.

A resident of Taw Kan village told Narinjara News that at approximately 3:30 pm on 14 January, a helicopter fired shots between Taw Kan and Wah Bo villages under  Sittwe township. Consequently, the villagers of Taw Kan fled to safer places.

 "At around 3 pm, the soldiers fired at the village from a helicopter, prompting us to flee to the creek bank. Two artillery shells landed in the creek, and one hit the village. Fortunately, no villagers were injured. The soldiers surrounded the village by  7:30 pm last night. Now there are only a few people left in the village," he added.

Narinjara News communicated with a villager who conveyed that around 80 houses are engulfed by the flame.

According to the Rakhine political analysts, the junta was grappling with substantial losses in the ongoing conflicts against the Arakan Army (AA) and the soldiers are now forcing on innocent civilians. They also resorted to firing artillery shells at villages and wards continuously.

The residents stated that the fire in Taw Kan village damaged over 200 houses and the arson continued till  10 am on Monday.

On 23 December at around 2 pm, approximately 50 soldiers entered the wharf in Taw Kan village and took away numerous bags of rice and other items.