AA fighters raids Maungdaw, rescues thousands of trapped residents

Naung Min Thu, Narinjara News, 10 August 2024

The Arakan Army (AA) fighters have launched a raid on Maungdaw town in Arakan State and are rescuing tens of thousands of local Arakanese, 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 and rescued the trapped families. The fighting is intensified now as the junta soldiers continuing a series of airstrikes,” said a local resident.

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

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

“The AA is going to take over it. Hundreds of border guard personnel entered the residences and told the people that they would do no 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 and sick people on motorbikes and helping us to carry our bags,” he added.

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

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