Maungdaw district police chief, township officer with many others defect to AA

Naung Min Thu, Narinjara News, 10 August 2024

More than 20 policemen, including the district police chief, township officer and several other senior officers, defected to the Arakan Army (AA) with their weapons in Maungdaw town of Arakan State, where the intense fighting is going on for many days.

The family members informed that the police officers contacted the AA on 6 August  and later defected to the AA-controlled area.

On 9 August, some unarmed police personnel along with their families, who were trapped in Maungdaw, left for the AA-controlled area along with local people.

Some of the remaining officers and their families have also moved to the AA-controlled area leaving a few families  at the police station, said a family member.

The defectors included police chiefs along with the officers from various units like district police force, township police force, special intelligence department (SP), traffic police force, drug enforcement division, anti-human trafficking police force, etc.