The Arakan Army (AA) has accused the Myanmar military of deploying local residents as “human shields” and ordering civilians to dismantle their makeshift bomb shelters as heavy fighting intensifies for control of the Arakan State capital Sittwe.
Khaing Thukha, the AA spokesperson, announced on Wednesday that regime forces stationed inside the besieged state capital are violating international humanitarian law by placing non-combatants in harm’s way, stating that troops are “ordering residents to destroy bomb shelters” across residential quarters.
Local residents independently confirmed the directive, describing how military units have forced households to fill in defensive trenches and demolish protective bunkers in an apparent bid to deter resistance artillery and drone strikes while preventing civilians from taking cover during ongoing engagements.
The grave allegations follow a sharp escalation in riverine clashes along the Kaladan River flanking Sittwe.
On Oct. 26, the AA reportedly struck three Myanmar Navy vessels operating near the regime’s Shwemingan Naval Base, sinking two vessels and inflicting heavy damage on a third, though no official casualties have been confirmed.
Khaing Thukha also affirmed that Ngapyi Island—a strategically vital landmass positioned in the river at the boundary of Sittwe and Pauktaw townships, roughly one mile east of the naval base—remains firmly under AA control despite sustained regime naval bombardments that began on Oct. 7.
The island serves as a critical tactical buffer securing the AA’s hold on Pauktaw Township, which the AA seized in 2024.
On Oct. 23, a devastating explosion along Min Bar Gyi Road in central Sittwe killed at least nine people and left five others critically injured at Sittwe General Hospital, with neither the AA nor the military claiming responsibility for the blast.
According to an Oct. 9 report by the Institute for Strategy and Policy (ISP-Myanmar), at least 70 civilians have been killed in 71 airstrikes and 32 clashes across the state since the regime began its counteroffensive.
Despite the regime’s heavy use of air and naval firepower, the AA has not conceded any territory since launching its major offensive in November 2023, retaining its grip over 14 of Arakan’s 17 townships and Chin State’s Paletwa Township while keeping troops confined to fortified enclaves in Sittwe, Kyaukphyu, and Manaung townships.
The regime authorities in Naypyidaw have yet to issue any public response regarding the war crime allegations.
