Three sons of soldiers from the 536th Light Infantry Battalion who came to collect the UAS drone were captured and detained after the Arakan Army was able to seize an Israeli-made combat-used Skylark I-LEX drone that the Burmese military is using

Myanmar Army has been launching a series of massive offensive assaults against the Arakan Army by the use of Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) drone to break through, with heavy artillery support, amid the whole world are struggling to combat against the spread of Coronavirus and even in the rainy season. Such launching the large-scale operations in the rainy season is a deliberate act to prevent farmers from growing paddy and to make rice scarcity in the Arakan region in the next year.

At 4:20 pm on 24 June 2020 for a few minutes, the Arakan Army mobile column clashed with a military column of Myanmar Army comprised of 100 troops based in Rathedaung that was conducting their military operation nearby Pyar-Chaung-Gyi Bridge, Rathedaung Township in Arakan.  

During the short term clash, the enemy blindly fired heavy and light weapons to every area for 45 minutes due to heavy casualties from their side. It was eyewitnesses that the eight enemies were killed and the other seven were injured.

Subsequently, the Myanmar Army, full of racial hatred fired heavy and light weapons into villages and the shells fell and exploded at an IDP camp near Shwe-Para-Mi monastery in Rathedaung Township. Therefore, the left calf of U Maung Aye Nyunt (physical and mental illness person), 56-year-old, the son of U Shwe Noe Aung from the IDP camp was seriously injured.

The Arakan Army had not only seized a small Israeli-designed drone (Unmanned Aircraft System), Skylark I-LEX used in the battlefield from that military column but also captured three sons of soldiers from the 536th  Light Infantry Battalion based in Rathdaung who came to collect that drone. Those captives are as follows:

(1) Maung Kyaw Thu Ra (24-year-old /Rakhine/Buddhist)

Father- Sergeant Aye Kyaw (Rakhine/ LIB 536 of Rathedaung)

(2) Maung Nay Sann Oo (23-year-old/Rakhine/Buddist)

Father- Corporal Hla Shwe (Rakhine/ LIB 536 of Rathedaung)

(3) Maung Myo Hein San (20-year-old/Rakhine/Buddist)

Father-Corporal San Thein (Rakhine/ LIB 536 of Rathedaung)

One of the horrendous acts among the common tactics of the Myanmar Army is availing the children and relatives of their soldiers and informers to facilitate their military operations. It is learnt that they brought along the children of their troops to avail of the military operation, spying, carrying the rations, and stoking up for the conflicts.

In addition, the Myanmar Army military column phoned the local authorities in the surrounding villages in the area of the fighting to search for that drone (UAS). If it was not found, the entire villages would be burnt down and innocent civilians of Arakan were threatened to be killed.

The Myanmar Army has been continuously creating political and racial conflicts, committing sabotage acts, and disuniting local ethnic groups by using some Arakanese military personnel in the Myanmar Army and their strongholds in the Arakan regions. Therefore, local residents living in Arakan regions are strongly exhorted to have awareness of this deception of Myanmar occupying army in the current situation of national liberation movement.

Info-Desk

Arakan Army