Residents of several villages in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State have established night watches to protect their communities amid escalating clashes in nearby Sittwe and Ponnagyun townships and rising security threats along the Mayu Mountain Range.

Locals in Rathedaung Township—including the villages of Amyetya, Chutpyin, Yaynantha, and Aungzeya—confirmed that villagers introduced rotating sentry shifts following security guidance from the United League of Arakan/Arakan Army (ULA/AA), the ethnic armed group controlling the area.

“Villages along the mountain range were directed to set up security posts,” said a male resident of Rathedaung Township. “We check incoming and outgoing strangers, question suspicious non-local individuals, and report them to the relevant authorities.”

The heightened security measures follow recent attempts by junta naval forces to execute amphibious landings along the Rathedaung coastline after heavy artillery bombardments.

Villagers noted that the patrols serve a dual purpose along the Mayu Range: mitigating potential threats from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and preventing infiltration by Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) personnel operating out of junta-controlled Sittwe.

“We were informed to take turns guarding the village,” another resident added. “We have instituted similar security measures periodically in the past. It is necessary for local security.”

Rathedaung borders active conflict zones in Sittwe and Ponnagyun. 

The Arakan Army captured the township in March 2024 after overrunning three military bases.