– The attack followed a clash with the Arakan Army
– One-third of the population of Myanmar, or over 18 million people, now require humanitarian aid
Arakan News Desk: Myanmar’s junta intensified its military actions on Monday, bombarding the island town of Ramree in Rakhine State.
The attack followed a clash with the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic Rakhine armed group, outside the town, the Irrawaddy reported.
According to reports from a resistance group and locals, a resident was killed, and civilian buildings were set ablaze during the junta’s bombardment.
The Brotherhood Alliance, consisting of the AA, Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), disclosed that AA troops engaged in a clash with regime forces.
Despite the use of drones and gunboats by the junta, AA resistance fighters managed to kill four regime troops, seize weapons, and ammunition during the confrontation at Aung Chan Thar hilltop pagoda.
In the aftermath, a junta fighter jet and two helicopter gunships targeted Ramree town and nearby villages, resulting in the destruction of civilian houses and fuel shops.
Approximately 80% of the town’s population, around 8,000 people, fled due to the heavy bombardment.
The continued offensive by the Brotherhood Alliance, known as Operation 1027, has significantly challenged the military regime.
Recent data indicates that the AA has seized numerous junta bases, police stations, and border outposts across northern Rakhine State and Paletwa Township in neighboring Chin State during this operation.
The situation remains fluid, with the conflict escalating across multiple regions in Myanmar. The Brotherhood Alliance’s coordinated offensive has triggered substantial surrenders and defections from junta troops, as they face increasing pressure from ethnic and resistance forces.
One-third of the population of Myanmar, or more than 18 million people, now require humanitarian aid, the United Nations warned on Monday, seeking a billion dollars in donations next year to combat the need.
The humanitarian situation in the Southeast Asian country has worsened since the coup there nearly three years ago, the global body said.
“Myanmar stands at the precipice in 2024 with a deepening humanitarian crisis that has spiraled since the military takeover in February 2021 with the civilian population that is now living in fear,” said a report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) published Monday.
The 18.6 million people who are currently in need of humanitarian assistance is one million more than a year ago and 19 times as many as in 2020, before the coup.
The report highlighted the particular concern of mass displacement, with nearly 2.6 million people pushed out of their homes as of December 11 — an increase of 1.1 million since the same time last year — including more than 660,000 people who have been displaced since late October amid the escalating conflict between the military and ethnic minority fighters in the country’s north.
