Combined forces of the ethnic Arakan Army (AA) and regional People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) have reportedly seized several villages in Ayeyarwady’s Lemyethna Township after fierce clashes last week.
A displaced resident from Lekhonegyi village in the township said Wednesday: “I heard air raids every day until yesterday. Fighting mainly took place in Wetkone village, but it’s stopped today.”
The clashes have forced more than 1,000 people from a dozen villages to flee their homes, but some remain trapped, according to locals.
The clashes occurred in the eastern foothills of the Arakan Mountains that separate Lemyethna from Gwa Township in the AA’s home state of Rakhine.
They happened when junta troops raided the area in response to reports that AA troops had crossed the mountains.
Junta troops were deployed in Tonetaw village on March 19, but it fell to combined resistance forces on Tuesday, and regime deployments in a few other villages have also reportedly been defeated.
A resident of Sankone village said: “A Tonetaw villager told me that there were many bodies in their village and villagers were burying them. The dead include both regime soldiers and PDFs.”
Junta battalions in nearby Yegyi and Ingapu townships provided artillery support during the fighting, according to residents.
A local said rebel forces still have a daunting task reaching Lemyethna town on the eastern bank of the Ngawun River that runs through the township.
“Clashes are only taking place in places close to the mountains,” he said. “Those villages are in the foothills, and there’s still a long way to reach the river.”
Even crossing the Pathein-Monywa Highway that slices north-south through the western part of the township is a tall order.
“There are more villages and the terrain is wider on the other side of the road, so we’ll wait and see how far they’ll be able to advance,” he added.
The AA has been advancing on Ayeyarwady since capturing Gwa Township late last year. Fighting has flared up on Shwe Thaung Yan Beach, in Tharbaung, Yegyi, and Lemyethna townships, and in Ngathaingchaung sub-township.
Military analysts and defectors believe the conflict zone is likely to expand as the combined forces try to gain footholds in townships adjacent to the Arakan Mountains.
