Naung Min Thu, Narinjara News, 10 August 2024

The Arakan Army (AA) fighters have launched a raid onMaungdaw town in Arakan State and are rescuing tens of thousands of localArakanese, Muslims and Hindus, who were trapped inside, said some of the rescued individuals. They rescued local residents on Friday morning.

“This morning, the AA fighters raided Maungdaw andrescued the trapped families. The fighting is intensified now as the juntasoldiers continuing a series of airstrikes,” said a local resident.

They launched the offensive against Maungdaw and the5th border guard police battalion (Na Kha Kha-5) from five fronts. The fightingto capture the town remains very intense, added the resident.

 A rescued local Muslim said that they can no longerlive in the town.

“The AA is going to take over it. Hundreds of borderguard personnel entered the residences and told the people that they would dono harm to the residents. But if a clash erupts, we’ll be caught in the middle.So we fled, where the AA fighters helped us. They’re transporting elderly andsick people on motorbikes and helping us to carry our bags,” he added.

The offensive against Na Kha Kha-5 basebegan on 3 August. Later the fighting on  8 and 9 August were extremelyintense. The junta forces are trying to defend the base and also the town withthe help of jet fighters so that  AA fighters can not succeed.

Photograph caption: AA fighters rescued people trapped inMaungdaw on 9 August.