Six villagers in Thit Kauk Village in Arakan (Rakhine) State’s Thandwe Township were hit by an artillery shell fired from a junta naval base on 10 August 2024.
Most of the villagers had already evacuated from Thit Kauk Village when a shell fired from the Maung Shwe Lay Naval Base on 10 August killed six villagers who had remained to guard their homes. The shell landed in the monastery compound where the villagers were sheltering from fighting in the area.
A Thandwe Township resident said: "An artillery shell exploded in the monastery yard where they were taking shelter. It was a tragic incident, and the villagers were killed. We’ve received reports of additional wounded villagers, but further details are not available due to current communication difficulties.”
Thit Kauk Village is only two miles away from the Maung Shwe Lay Naval Base. Most inhabitants fled the village when the junta and Arakan Army (AA) started fighting in the area, but a few villagers chose to stay in the village to guard their homes.
The AA now controls most of Thandwe Township and Maung Shwe Lay Naval Base is the last remaining junta stronghold in the township. In Thandwe Township the AA has already taken control of the Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 566 base in Ngapali Town, The Infantry Battalion (IB) 55 base, the hotel zone and downtown Thandwe Town.
In an effort to hold the base the junta has deployed resources from the army, navy and air force to defend the base. They are fiercely resisting the AA’s attempts to take the base.
The killing of the villagers in a junta attack on a residential area has been mirrored throughout the country.
An Arakan human rights activist said: “Incidents of civilian deaths caused by the junta's targeted attacks on residential areas are happening not just in Arakan State, but across the country. The main reason is that the junta attacks indiscriminately, without distinguishing between civilian areas and military targets. It still refuses to acknowledge its mounting, undeniable losses and is acting recklessly.”
Fighting in Thandwe Township, between the AA and the junta, started on 13 April. Since then, the junta has killed over 140 civilians in the township.
