Junta bases around the town of Ann in Rakhine State—where the Myanmar military’s Western Regional Command is based—were heard firing both heavy and light weapons on Sunday night, raising concern among area residents.
The sound of artillery and gunfire could be heard coming from multiple locations, including the old airport, at around 10pm, as the threat of renewed clashes with the Arakan Army persists.
“We heard the weapons going off in separate places,” a resident of Ann told Myanmar Now on Monday morning. “They would occasionally fire a series of shells consecutively or fire automatic weapons. Each time, they would fire around 50 rounds in 10 minutes and then repeat it, again and again. It went on for around 30 minutes.”
He also reported seeing drones overhead while the weapons were being fired, and noted that it was not clear whether the shooting was part of a clash.
“Everyone was afraid since they were firing non-stop, so many people from outside the town came into the town, waking up the residents,” the local explained. “The uneasiness and the terror just grew the whole night.”
He recalled a similar phenomenon during previous battles between the AA and the military in 2019 and 2020, when the Myanmar army would shoot their weapons at night in what he speculated was an attempt to display their firepower and intimidate the opposing forces.
In the days prior, locals in Buthidaung and Mrauk-U townships reported similar activities by military troops.
According to a Buthidaung local, soldiers from the Nyaung Chaung base in Buthidaung claimed to have informed area village administrators that they had been “testing weapons” when gunfire was heard on the evening of May 19.
He added that military vehicles have recently been seen transporting supplies and troops throughout northern Rakhine State.
Tensions have been growing in the region since last November, when the AA and the military clashed for the first time in a year. Battles also occurred in December, as well as in February of this year, in the state’s northern townships.
On May 15, the AA urged the Rakhine public to avoid areas where junta personnel are active, warning that fighting could break out at any time. Days later, a military spokesperson claimed in a press conference that the Myanmar army was “holding back” in the region in order to prevent unrest.
AA commander Twan Mrat Naing took to Twitter in early May and threatened Htin Latt Oo, the head of the Myanmar army’s Western Regional Command, for allegedly undermining peace in Rakhine State.
