Government staff are packing up and moving out of Thandwe and Ngapali towns in southern Rakhine State as fierce fighting between regime and the Arakan Army troops intensifies, residents say.
The regime has been evacuating staff and moving office furniture, equipment and documents out of Thandwe for one week, following clashes about 30 kilometers north of the town. It is also moving vehicles and machinery from the Tha Htay Chaung hydropower project to Yangon, according to sources from Thandwe and Gwa townships.
A source who lives on the Thandwe-Yangon Road said: “Vehicles big and small carrying furniture are going to Yangon daily. Trucks are carrying backhoes. Some of the dump trucks were huge. I have never seen dump trucks of that size before. They are going to Yangon every day.”
A resident of Thandwe said: “Machinery from the hydropower project and government staff were kept at a religious hall in the area. They are being moved away. I have seen them driving to Yangon. I have so far counted 48 units of heavy machinery, and they keep coming.”
Of the three routes linking Rakhine with other regions, the regime is using the southernmost, the road through the Rakhine Mountain. Junta checkpoints allow vehicles carrying office stuff as well as private vehicles to pass during the day time, the Thandwe resident said.
A source close to government staff in Thandwe Town said: “I heard half of the documents in Thandwe are being sent to Kyeintali. Some departments have had secret meetings and staff were told to keep important documents with them.” Kyeintali is a town in Gwa Township.
Some department and ward administration offices are closed in Ngapali Town, adjacent Ngapali Beach. “I heard important documents were taken somewhere. Offices have been closed. We don’t know why,” said a resident of the town.
The regime and the Arakan Army have clashed at least 10 times in Thandwe since fighting broke out in the township on April 13.
The Irrawaddy was unable to obtain comment from the junta’s spokesman for Rakhine State Hla Thein.
Civilian casualties keep increasing in Rakhine as the regime continues to respond to losses on the battlefield by pounding civilians with airstrikes and shelling.
Some empty shells fired by junta warships landed in Ngapali Town on Saturday, residents said.
Fighting broke out in the state in November of last year.
