A deputy battalion commander was among dozens of junta soldiers killed in ongoing clashes with the ethnic Arakan Army (AA) over Rakhine State’s Thandwe Township, home to Myanmar’s top coastal resort of Ngapali Beach, according to residents.
Heavy clashes reportedly broke out near the Tha Htay hydropower plant in northern Thandwe Township on April 22 as AA forces advanced into the area.
Junta troops from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 566 and Infantry Battalion 55 based at Ngapali were supported by naval boats in clashes with AA units, according to residents.
Infantry Battalion 55 deputy commander Major Pyae Phyo Hein was killed along with army captain Ko Ko Lin and several other regime soldiers in fighting on Friday, said local sources and Rakhine media reports.
The Irrawaddy was unable to confirm the reports independently.
Captain Ko Ko Lin’s death was confirmed to The Irrawaddy by a Ngapali source close to his family.
Rakhine media and sources reported that up to 60 regime soldiers have been killed and many others wounded in clashes around the hydropower plant.
On April 25, a truck transported what is believed to be bodies of soldiers killed in the clashes to the LIB 566 base in Ngapali Beach, another local source said.
Wounded regime soldiers are being treated at the public hospital in Thandwe town, a hospital source said.
Rakhine media report that the junta has deployed reinforcements and weapons to Thandwe and is using aircraft and naval boats to defend against the AA attack. Around 10,000 residents from six villages near the hydropower plant have abandoned their homes due to the fighting.
On Saturday, AA troops and resistance allies seized the junta’s Taw Hein Taung hilltop base in Ann Township after over a month of attacks. The AA launched its offensive in Ann Township, where the junta’s Western Military Command is located, last month.
The ethnic army has seized over 170 junta bases and taken full control of six of Rakhine’s 17 townships, as well as three other towns in the state. It also controls the whole of Paletwa Township in neighboring Chin State.
