Intense fighting in Sittwe and Ponnagyun townships, over 100 soldiers including column commanders killed in SAC's offensive

Ayeyarwaddy Times September 13 Intense fighting is occurring between both sides in villages near the border of Sittwe and Ponnagyun townships in Rakhine State due to the offensive operations of the State Administration Council (SAC) army's ground columns, with over 100 soldiers, including column commanders, reportedly killed on the SAC side, according to military sources. The SAC army, which is conducting operations in Ponnagyun township, is launching offensives divided into five main columns, deploying approximately 200 soldiers per column, for a total of about 1,000 troops. "We have learned that the column commander from the Wabo side and the column commanders advancing towards Kuntau have died. Initially, a large number of troops advanced from the Shweminngan side, and now they are attacking with five columns," a military source told Ayeyarwaddy Times. The SAC army began its offensive on September 4th, advancing from Agyan village in Sittwe township with a column of nearly 200 soldiers towards Kuntau village in Ponnagyun township, and fighting broke out near the Agyan (Mincheing) bridge. Furthermore, units stationed in Kyamausauk village and columns of over 100 soldiers from Tagon and Yatan villages launched offensives towards Wabo and Spar Htar, resulting in intense exchanges of fire with heavy and small arms between both armies. From September 4th to 7th, the SAC army divided its forces into three small columns for offensives towards Wabo village and four small columns towards Kuntau village, while approximately 150 troops from the Shweminngan naval base also launched offensives towards Yeyoprin, Khamaungtaw, and Yahou villages in Ponnagyun township. In the battles that occurred during those days, one column commander each from the Wabo village battle and the SAC columns that launched offensives from Mincheing bridge towards Kuntau village were killed, and their bodies were transported to the Achait Taw Kone cemetery in Sittwe city and cremated day and night, it is reported. From September 8th to 10th, the Arakan Army (AA) counter-attacked in response to the defensive operations, causing the SAC army's columns to suffer losses and retreat, and the fighting continued intensely until September 11th. Currently, the SAC army is primarily using the 101st Division to shape the offensive in Ponnagyun, deploying approximately 500 troops between the Mincheing and Kuntau bridges. The division commander has set up a command post within Padelit village to command the troops and is reinforcing forces to control the Yethaytaung junction, the main military objective of the Western Command, within September. After crossing the Mincheing bridge, the SAC army launched intense aerial attacks on a high school in Ponnagyun town and also fired heavy artillery towards Kyaukhsit village, resulting in ground columns reaching near the northern part of Ponnagyun town, according to military sources. Map – NZY The post Intense fighting in Sittwe and Ponnagyun townships, over 100 soldiers including column commanders killed in SAC's offensive appeared first on Ayeyarwaddy Times.