Naypyidaw (AsiaNews / Agencies) – The death toll of the latest clashes between the Tatmadaw (the Burmese army) and the Buddhist rebels of the Iraq Army (Aa - photo) is at least nine dead and 14 hostages, all in the ranks of government forces.
While Independence Day was celebrated in Myanmar, the insurgents conducted a series of coordinated attacks on four military outposts in the municipality of Buthidaung, in the north of Rakhine, yesterday morning.
Reports of the assault were first announced in an announcement by the AA, confirmed in the afternoon by Gen. Zaw Min Tun of the Office of the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Naypyidaw. The senior official did not confirm the number of hostages, but reports "missing" in the region. The general said that four border outposts were attacked simultaneously by more than 100 AA militants.
Government troops "successfully re-established order in all four locations by the afternoon". The stations are located in villages where the Rakhine Buddhist population lives, which gives its name to the homonymous State. These are Kyaung Taung, Nga Myin Taw, Ka Htee La and Kone Myint. All are located in the northern area of the municipality of Buthidaung.
The Burmese Western State, already the scene of the Rohingya humanitarian emergency, is once again torn by the conflict, this time not by Muslim rebels. Since the beginning of last December, fighting has intensified between government forces and the rebel army, which claims more autonomy for its ethnic group. According to United Nations (UN) estimates, the recent violence produced 2,500 displaced persons in four municipalities. Local non-profit organizations that operate in the territory say instead that there are more than 4 thousand refugees.
