Junta troops retreating from Thandwe Township to Gwa Township in Rakhine State blew up a bridge between the two towns on Wednesday to impede the progress of Arakan Army (AA) troops who were pursuing them, according to residents.
“Half of Chin Kwin Bridge remained on Tuesday, but they destroyed the entire bridge early Wednesday morning,” a resident who arrived at the scene on Wednesday morning told The Irrawaddy.
The bridge is located near Kyeintali town 56 km from Thandwe town, on the only route that civilians can use to flee from Thandwe to Gwa. Part of the Thandwe-Gwa-Yangon Road, the route is used for trade and for patients who need to go to Yangon for healthcare services not available in Rakhine.
A trader who supplies groceries in Thandwe said: “The situation is getting worse. We can’t send supplies without that bridge. I filled a tuk-tuk with food to send to Thandwe, but I can’t send it now.”
Since the AA captured Thandwe town, the regime has blown up four bridges in the township including three rural bridges leading to the Kwin Wyne naval base near Ngapali Beach.
The regime has been bringing in reinforcements by road and sea from Ayeyarwady Region to fight in Ngapali Beach in Thandwe Township. It has also reinforced checkpoints in Gwa town, said residents.
One Gwa resident said: “I heard around 80 junta soldiers were deployed at a monastery near a bridge in Sap Thwar Village a few days ago. Junta soldiers have built bamboo fortifications outside checkpoints.”
The regime has set up checkpoints at three important locations in Gwa Township including on Gwa-Yangon Road, residents said.
Three overland routes link Rakhine with other parts of the country. The regime is using a road through the mountains in Gwa Township in the southernmost part of Rakhine to send reinforcements from Ayeyarwady Region to Thandwe Township, which is 128 km from Gwa.
Fighting has been raging in the hotel zone in Mya Pyin Ward and Jeiktaw Village, the junta’s last base in Ngapali Beach.
The two sides clashed in at least four locations in Mya Pyin and Jeiktaw on Wednesday, according to residents.
At least six civilians were killed and several others injured when the regime shelled villages where displaced people were taking shelter this week, residents said.
Fighting has been raging in Ngapali Beach since early June. The AA has seized Thandwe Airport, Light Infantry Battalion 566 and Infantry Battalion 55, and much of the popular beach. It is now focused on attacking the last remaining junta position on the southern tip of the beach. The regime is defending it with air and naval support.
