Two Rakhine armed groups have reportedly clashed near the Myanmar-India border over a territorial dispute.
The Arakan Army (AA), and the Arakan Liberation Army (ALA), the military wing of the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP), began fighting on the afternoon of August 22, according to Daw Saw Mra Razar Lin, a leader of the ALP.
“I heard that the AA detained an official named Mee Thway and a soldier named Than Htike from the ALA at around 10pm on August 21. I learned that our headquarters was attacked with artillery shells at 2pm today [August 22]. According to my latest information, a soldier from our army has fallen,” said Daw Saw Mra Razar Lin, who is in Bangladesh.
DVB Burmese reported on August 23 that the ALP headquarters has fallen and three soldiers were seriously injured while two are missing.
Daw Saw Mra Razar Lin said that she lost contact with the ALA base.
“I want to demand [the AA] to immediately halt this battle. It’s very shameful for this to happen among the Rakhine people. This shouldn’t happen among organizations that are working for the country and the people. We need to stop this immediately,” she said.