There were more than 20 clashes between junta troops and the Arakan Army (AA) in Paletwa Township, Chin State, in the first week of October, the ethnic armed group said in a statement on Friday.

 

At least 40 junta soldiers were killed and 25 others wounded in clashes with the AA, the ethnic armed group said. AA casualties were alsos reported in clashes with the regime forces, the AA added.

 

A fierce clash erupted between the military and AA at a location about 1.3 kilometres south of Kyauksartaing Village in Buthidaung Township on October 3, with the fighting lasting for about five hours, the statement said.

 

Seventeen junta soldiers were killed, 15 others injured and a number of weapons were seized in the clash, the AA statement said. Ten junta soldiers were killed and 10 others were injured in fighting with the AA at a location between Gudarpyin Village and Taung Ywar Village in Buthidaung Township on October 5 and 6, the AA’s statement reads.

 

The AA said it launched an attack on a military contingent deployed at Kyatsin Bridge in Minbya Township on October 7, killing eight junta soldiers and injuring some security personnel.

 

DMG could not independently verify reports of junta casualties in its clashes with the AA this month.

 

DMG phoned Arakan State Minister for Security and Border Affairs Colonel Kyaw Thura and regime spokesman Maj-Gen Zaw Min Tun for comment on the AA’s statement, but they could not be reached.

 

Regime forces are currently launching attacks on AA camps in Arakan and Chin states with the support of aerial bombings and artillery strikes, said the statement.

 

Six civilians including a teenager and a younger child in Palaung Pyin Village, Minbya Township, were injured when their village was struck by junta artillery strikes at around 1 p.m. on Friday, according to local residents.

 

At least six civilians have died and 23 others have been injured by junta artillery strikes since August amid the renewed fighting between the Myanmar military and the AA.