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On July 11, BBM learned that the 344th Artillery Battalion, located in Mrauk San village on the Gwa-Nga Thaing Chaung road in Ayeyarwady Region, is continuously firing heavy weapons and mortars, even though the fighting has calmed down recently.

Military sources in the Ayeyarwady Region said that heavy weapons are continuously firing at villages near the artillery and at areas where the Arakan Army (AA) and People’s Defense Forces (PDF) are thought to be present.

“The artillery is firing heavy weapons and mortars every day. In the past, they only fired four or five rounds. Now, they are firing more than ten rounds a day,”

said an Irrawaddy military source who lives near the artillery battalion. In early July, the Arakan Army (AA) and the Revolutionary Joint Force (PDF) opened fire on the 344th Battalion with heavy weapons, resulting in fierce fighting between the two sides.

Currently, the military situation on both sides is calm, and they are firing heavy weapons day and night because they are worried that the AA and the PDF will soon approach the artillery battalion, according to military sources close to the AA.

“I heard that the artillery is surrounded by AA and allied forces. I can’t say what day or what time. So the artillery is threatening the places where the revolutionary forces are. They are firing day and night,”

the military source said. Due to the continuous heavy weapons fire from the 344th Artillery Battalion, residents living near the artillery battalion are reportedly fleeing to nearby towns such as Nga Thaing Chaung, Yae Kyi Township, and other areas.

On July 30, the Arakan Army (AA) and the People’s Defense Forces (PDF) attacked the 344th Battalion, killing more than 20 members of the military junta and injuring more than 50 others.

The 344th Artillery Battalion (AA) is located in Mrauk San village, near the junction of Pathein-Monywa Road and Gwa-Nga Thaing Road, on the border between Rakhine and Ayeyarwady.

The Southwestern Military District Command, based in Pathein, Ayeyarwady Region, has arrested and tried four military junta’s officers, including the commander of the Southwestern Regional Military District, for corruption and sentenced them to long-term imprisonment and death sentences, according to military sources in the Ayeyarwady Region.

Those sentenced to long prison terms by the military junta include Brigadier General Kyaw Soe Lwin, Commander-in-Chief of the South Western Military Command, Colonel Aung San Lwin, Lieutenant Colonel Kyaw Swar Htun, and Lieutenant Colonel Myo Zaw Aung, who were tried by the military junta’s court martial and were sentenced to long prison terms on July 13, according to a military source in Pathein, Ayeyarwady Region.

The commander-in-chief of the Southwestern military district, Brigadier General Kyaw Soe Lwin, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, the commander-in-chief, Colonel Aung San Lwin, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, Colonel Myo Zaw Aung was sentenced to life in prison and Lieutenant Colonel Kyaw Swar Htun was sentenced to death.

“The Office of the Chief of Military Security Affairs arrested and punished the officials for allegedly embezzling thousands of hundred thousand of kyats at the checkpoint at the junction of Pathein-Monywa and Gwa-Ngathaing Chaung roads to import food and medicine into Rakhine. It is understood that other officials were also among them,”

said a military source in Pathein. They were arrested and sentenced in September 2024 for accepting bribes worth thousands of hundred thousand of kyats in order to obtain permission to export food, fuel, and medicine from Yangon to Rakhine at the Yae Nantthar checkpoint at the junction of the Pathein-Monywa main road and the Gwa-Ngathaing Chaung road in Ngathaing Chaung Township.

BBM has learned that six other officers are also involved in these cases, and they are also being investigated by the Military Security Forces (MSF).

The military junta has also frozen all assets of the four officers currently serving sentences for corruption.

Two POWs who escaped with AA weapons and ammunition in Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State have been recaptured, according to AA military sources. 

On July 8, two POWs from a POW camp in Maungdaw Township beat two AA soldiers and took a gun and more than 20 rounds of ammunition before escaping, according to military sources close to the AA. 

“The two POWs escaped from the POW camp. They also beat two AA soldiers who were providing security that day with gun butts. They took a gun and more than 20 rounds of ammunition before escaping,”

a military source close to the AA added.  The two escaped prisoners of war were recaptured on July 10 by the AA in Maungdaw, Buthidaung Township, according to AA military sources. 

BBM also learned that the AA recaptured the two escaped prisoners of war with their guns near the Thein Taung Pyin Muslim Village in Buthidaung Township. 

“The two prisoners of war fled from Maungdaw to Buthidaung township. The AA also pursued them and recaptured them. When they fled with their weapons, the civilians were very scared,”

said a military source close to the AA in Maungdaw Township.  The AA has captured 14 townships in Rakhine and has captured thousands of prisoners of war during the city-capturing campaign. 

During the battle for the city, the AA has also been holding prisoners of war captured in accordance with the Prisoner of War Law and has been releasing them. 

During the battle for the city, such as Maungdaw, Buthidaung, and Minbya, the AA has also paid travel expenses and released thousands of military council members who surrendered.

Arakan Army (AA) is currently clearing out ARSA militants in northern Maungdaw, Rakhine State, according to military sources close to the AA. 

The Muslim armed group ARSA has been camping in villages near the Bangladesh border in northern Maungdaw, such as Mee Taik, Nant Thar Taung, and Kyeekan, so the AA has been clearing out the area, an AA military source said. 

“In the past, ARSA groups were cleared out along the Mayu ridge. Now, ARSA groups have entered areas near the Bangladesh border in Maungdaw, so when the AA clears the area, there are clashes. ARSA groups have also escaped,”

the AA military source added.  The military sources also said that the locals in Maungdaw Township need to be careful when travelling because of the escape of the ARSA groups. 

The ARSA, ARA, and RSO Muslim armed groups are conducting military operations along the Mayu and Wailar mountains in northern Maungdaw, and they often ambush, capture, and kill local civilians. 

Some locals who buy goods and merchandise along the Bangladesh border are also worried about travelling. 

“On this side, we are afraid even if we travel from village to village. We are also worried that someone will come and shoot us. The locals are even more worried. We are also worried that something will happen on the way if we go to buy goods from Maungdaw,”

said a Buthidaung resident who sells goods and merchandise in Maungdaw town.  Similarly, the AA cleared the areas around Wailar Mountain where ARSA troops were stationed last week, and all ARSA troops escaped, according to an AA military source. 

ARSA, RSO, ARA Muslim armed groups are recruiting and training new members in refugee camps in Bangladesh to fight the AA, and Rakhine politicians are also assessing that the current ARSA force strength is about 3,000.