(MENAFN- Asia Times)
The battle for the border town of Maungdaw in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state between the insurgent Arakan army (AA) and the Myanmar armed forces (MAF) is nearing a bloody dénouement.
State Administration Council (SAC) Regime forces have doggedly defended the town for several weeks of heavy fighting, but they are in almost terminal collapse almost everywhere across Rakhine. But the insurgent AA's almost certain victory has come at a high cost for the state's civilian population.
A deadly incident on the border with Bangladesh reportedly occurred on August 5, as hundreds of Rohingya fleeing Maungdaw by boat were targeted by drones dropping bombs.
Graphic film footage of the incident's aftermath quickly surfaced on social media, showing scores of dead civilians who had been struck by explosions, whether on land waiting to cross into Teknaf, or who may have floated back after the boats had been targeted. Several survivors claimed the AA was to blame for the attack.
Reuters and other international media reported the incident several days after it occurred, but none could independently verify the perpetrator, the possibility of multiple perpetrators, or the number of civilian casualties, with estimates ranging widely between 70 to 200. A British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) investigation in recent days contains harrowing survivor testimony but no conclusive evidence of the perpetrator of the attacks.
Both the MAF and AA widely used weaponized unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), increasingly so in the previous several months of fighting across Rakhine state. It is thus difficult to distinguish which drones are operated by which armed group, especially from civilians unversed in military tactics and weapons systems.
The AA may also be using heavy artillery captured from the Myanmar army. In several previous incidents this year, the AA have fired on vessels fleeing by river and sea, containing both MAF personnel and their families.
Compounding the confusion and raising tensions between Rakhine and Rohingya communities has been the SAC recruitment since February of thousands of Rohingya men who have been trained and armed to fight alongside MAF troops.
Three Rohingya armed groups have also infiltrated the Maungdaw area from refugee camps in Bangladesh: the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), the Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) and the Arakan Rohingya Army (ARA).
Furthermore, the MAF commander has armed a notorious drug dealer called Dil Mamat to fight alongside regime forces, according to Border News Agency .
The AA's political wing, the United League of Arakan (ULA), released a statement on August 7 claiming the group was“saddened to learn from social media that in recent days, many Muslims fleeing the town have reportedly died from artillery or small arms fire, bombings, drownings, airstrikes, or massive explosions near the coast of Maungdaw, causing great distress.”
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