30 junta soldiers killed, 50 arms seized in Sittwe: AA

Aye Myat Khaing, Narinjara News, 5 September 2024

Arakan Army (AA) spokesman U Khaing Thukha confirmed that their fighters found over 30 bodies of junta soldiers and seized  50 weapons during the first clash in Sittwe, the state capital of Arakan, on 29 August.

"In the Sittwe clash, the junta suffered heavy casualties. They also retreated as we chased  them. Our fighters seized more than 50 arms along with over 30 bodies. They later did not launch any offensive,” he added.

The fighting started  after the AA fighters ambushed a junta column at around 3 pm on 29 August. They were conducting military operations over Min Hla (also known as Mee Laung) village under Sittwe township. Later the junta column retreated.

The gun fighting lasted for more than four hours and it ended by 7 pm.

It was the first prolonged clash between the junta soldiers and AA fighters in Sittwe. The AA emerged victorious in the first confrontation.

U Khaing Thukha said that the junta forces, after suffering heavy casualties, fired artillery shells from a distant location. They avoided any further offensive in Sittwe.

The  Sittwe-based battalions however continued  firing artillery shells and conducting airstrikes on Rathedaung, Ponnagyun and Pauktaw townships.

A Sittwe resident informed that the junta forces fired artillery shells indiscriminately and also conducted airstrikes in the afternoon and evening hours of 30 August.

The junta soldiers apprehend that the AA fighters may attack Sittwe soon.  In response to it, barbed wire fences were installed along the town's bypassing roads to limit the movement of vehicles. Moreover, many bunkers and bomb shelters were reinforced at military battalions and other key locations, including the airfield.