Navy officer threatens to demolish Thandwe villages if any AA member found hiding there

There are reports stating that during an administrators' meeting, a navy lieutenant commander threatened to demolish the villages under Thandwe township of  Rakhine State, if a single Arakan Army (AA) member is found hiding there.

A village administrator said that the navy officer warned all village administrators during the Thandwe general administration weekly meeting held on 15 January.

"He stated that the soldiers will demolish the villages as soon as they receive information about a single AA member in their areas,” he added.

The navy  commander further threatened that they would not verify the accuracy of information about AA member’s presence, but start demolishing the houses of villagers.

"If they heard the news of any AA member’s presence in the village, they will not bother about the authenticity of it and go for demolition,” added the village administrator.

A local youth of Thandwe condemned the approach of the navy officer as that of a military dictator.

"His threats to demolish the villages reveal his terrorist mentality, who wants to work with no rule of law. It is almost a  war crime against the civilians,” he asserted.

The ongoing conflicts in the Rakhine region is termed as a liberation war where the AA fighters have been  launching offensive against the military junta forces. The military observers believe that the battle may spread across Rakhine State.

Moreover, following the fall of major towns and tactical operation command bases in the conflict, the junta forces may persist in targeting more civilians as they continue to face defeat against the AA fighters.