Myanmar Army arrests village administrator and medical officer after using villagers as human shield in battle

Myanmar Army and police are persecuting villagers from Re Gaung Chaung village,

in northern Arakan, where there are ongoing clashes between the Myanmar Army and

Arakan Army. Since November, number of clashes was occurring in northern Arakan everyday

after Myanmar Army launched offensive attacks against the Arakan Army by using air force

and long rang mortars like howitzer artilleries therefore villages in northern Arakan particularly strife-torn Re Gaung Chaung village was hit bombs and mortars by Myanmar Army. Moreover, villagers, village administrator and medical officer from Re Gaung Chaung were arrested after Myanmar soldiers raided village and forced entire villagers to leave their village for monastery  on 28.12.2018.

Before raiding Re Gaung Chaung, eleven villagers from Say Taung were forced to walk in front of Myanmar soldiers. That is to say that Myanmar Army used them as human shield in the battlefield. Local media like RFA and The Irrawaddy telephoned Ye Gaung Chaung’s administrator and  he confirmed human shield used by Myanmar Army therefore he was soon arrested along with medical officer when his village was raided, looted and demolished.

In Re Gaung Chaung, there were 302 houses, 350 families, 690 males, 720 females and total population was 1410.  On Thursday, ICRC announced that there are over (1000) displaced villagers whom ICRC is assisting in the fighting area of northern Arakan, western so-called Myanmar. The same day, Arakan National Party released statement demanding Myanmar Army not to threaten villagers with force and not to frighten them off  and demanding also not to block humanitarian workers who help displaced persons caused by Myanmar Army offensive attacks against the Arakan Army.

  

Social workers and donors were blocked by Myanmar Army

Myanmar Army, on Friday, announced unilateral ceasefire from Dec-21 to April 30

in almost every commands except in the lost Arakan to Myanmar, Western command.

No sooner had Myanmar Army announced its ceasefire than it again started offensive

attacks against the Arakan Army in Arakan, western Myanmar.

According to local media, Between the Myanmar Army and Arakan Army , fighting is still

occurring everyday  after Myanmar Army declared ceasefire. Local people doubt that Myanmar

Army ceases fighting in most regions by declaring unilateral ceasefire is to eliminate Arakan Army because Arakan , western Myanmar, is exception of ceasefire announced by Myanmar Army and Myanmar Army reinforces its troops from where it ceases fighting to Arakan.

Due to Myanmar Army offensive attacks again and again, clashes happened between the Arakan Army and Myanmar Army near the India-Myanmar border yesterday. Just yesterday, in fear, villagers were fleeing with only cloth on their bodies, www.narinjara.com said.

Along with hundreds of others, new number of refugees was facing lack of food and shelters.

Therefore, donors went to reach where new refugees were helpless by waterway to donate

them but soldiers of Myanmar Army blocked and asked donors to leave all donations at their

hand. Donors refused to leave their donations at the hand of Myanmar soldiers and returned back sadly, local media said.

Myanmar air force strafes bombs on position of Arakan Army

Photo: youtube.com

Myanmar Army’s chief directed his Air force to attack Arakan Army which was holding position on the mountain range in Northern Arakan, western so-called myanmar,yesterday, local media said.

According to a local media, two military fighter jets flew and hovered over the mountain rang strafing position held by Arakan Army. Local standard time,

at 13:00 hours, the fighter jets were flying low over the mountain. Simultaneously,

strafed bombs and bullets from the fighter jets to the position of Arakan Army.

one of those bombs hit motorway and exploded. Villagers nearby motorway started

fleeing in fear. It was Myanmar Army which launched offensive attacks against the Arakan Army since November. With everyday clashes between the Myanmar Army and Arakan Army in the lost Arakan to Myanmar( western Myanmar), fighting has stepped into one month period.

During the period of one month of fighting, over 900 refugees were fleeing from their home

to nearby villages with just only cloth on their bodies.

                   

When Myanmar Army shelled, Arakanese villagers were to flee

Due to Myanmar Army’s offensive attacks against the Arakan Army in the lost

Arakan to Myanmar( western Myanmar), almost over 300 villagers from Phet

Wun Chaung village and Sa Bar Dhar village were to flee to nearby villages.

From last week of November to nearly second weeks of December, Myanmar Army

 was shelling bombs near the villages and hills by using mortars. In fear,

villagers fled from their homes to nearby villages with just only clothes on their bodies.

These refugees ( IDPs) are in the terrible predicament and facing lack of food and

shelters. There is offensive attack made by Myanmar Army against Arakan Army

does not seem to be ended. Therefore, fighting between the Arakan Army and Myanmar

Army will continue and IDPs will also be more and more numbers in the lost Arakan to

Myanmar.

Myanmar Army launches offensive attacks control of Arakan Army’s strongholds

It is an ongoing battle again that fierce engagements between the Arakan Army and Myanmar Army started from past one week to this moment in the lost Arakan to Myanmar, western Myanmar.

It is a series of clashes which occur at Myanmar- Bangladesh border and inside the lost Arakan to Myanmar while Myanmar Army intrudes Arakan Army’s controlled area.

Arakan Army information officer Khaing Thu Kha shares information with local media that Myanmar Army launched offensive attacks in the liberated area of Arakan Army since last week.

During the fierce clashes between the Arakan Army and Myanmar Army, huge amount of

firearms and ammunitions from Myanmar Army are seized and bodies of Myanmar soldiers are also collected by Arakan Army , officer Khaing Thu Kha said.

According to officer Khaing Thu Kha , who shares information with local medias , Arakan Army maintains its controlled areas and strongholds repelling enemies in the best way.

Arakan Army information officer also expresses that there will be photos and video about the seizure of arms and ammunitions of Myanmar Army and collection of bodies of Myanmar Soldiers on the Arakan Army’s social media next a few days.

The Serpent and the King: The Dutch-Arakanese Relationship (Re-submitting)

by Stephan Van Galen

Remains of Dutch factory in Mrauk U, Arakan

D.G.E. Hall, the eminent historian of Southeast Asia, in his ‘’Studies in Dutch relations with Arakan’’, was the first to point out the importance of the Dutch language sources for a study on the history of Arakan. Hall pieced together a preliminary overview of the Dutch-Arakanese relationship on the basis of the published Daghregisters or diaries of Batavia. In his history of Southeast Asia Hall even based his description of 17th century Arakan almost entirely on the Daghregister and further source publications: the Corpus Diplomaticum Neerlando-Indicum and De Jonge’’s Opkomst van het Nederlandsch gezag in Oost-Indie.