The Arakan Army’s (AA) News and Information announced on February 28 that they had seized the No.9 Military Advanced Training School in Minpyar Township, Rakhine State, within 10 days.
The statement reported that the AA started to attack the No.9 Military Advanced Training School _ known as Minbya Tai Baho 9 _ on February 17. After a fierce offensive for about 10 days, the military junta’s air force defended the attack with non-stop counterattacks and heavy artillery. Still, the No.9 Military Advanced Training School was captured.
“Since the No.9 Military Advanced Training School has been captured, fighting is calm. Currently, the AA is planning what is needed. I don’t know if the junta soldiers were captured,” said a resident of Minpyar.
The junta’s jet intentionally launched an aerial bombardment on Minphu Hospital in Minbya Township at 1:45 in the morning of February 27, 2024, destroying the entire hospital.
“We still can’t enter the town. Hospitals and schools in the town were bombed with a jet. The junta jet bombed also the place where the local people had taken shelter when the storms hit and the water flooded. People cannot live in the town, so doctors are giving medical treatment in the controlled area. That area is now a medical treatment place, but the junta bombarded that place yesterday. Everything was destroyed. I heard some people were injured,” said a social worker in Minbya Township.
The Arakan Army reported that civilians who are receiving medical treatment and the hospital staff were seriously injured by the junta’s airstrikes on the Minphu Hospital in Minbya Township.
In addition, it is a place where prisoners of war of the junta troops and their family members are receiving medical treatment.
“The aerial bombardments on hospitals and medical clinics are proof that the junta is illegally committing war crimes. Since they cannot attack ULA/AA, it should not be possible to target local people. They (junta) lost the war, but they attacked targeting local people, so this attack is also a violation of human rights. These are inhuman actions,” said U Mya Tun, director of the Rakhine Human Rights Defenders Association.
In the Minbya battle in Rakhine State, the military junta used the forces of the army, navy and air force at the same time to defend against the AA offensive attack, but the Arakan Army (AA) was able to take control of Minbya town according to the ground military situation.