Junta troops destroyed two strategically important bridges with landmines in Kyeintali and Gwa towns in Rakhine State on 24 and 25 July 2024, according to locals.
The Chin Kwin Bridge near Kyeintali town on the Thandwe-Gwa road was destroyed on 24 July at 9:00 pm.
The Thayet Pin Kwin bridge in southern Gwa Town was demolished on the morning of 25 July, according to a resident from Gwa who spoke to Mizzima.
The Chin Kwin Bridge is a crucial connection linking Thandwe, Gwa, Irrawaddy, and Yangon by road, said locals.
They speculated that the junta had destroyed the the bridges after recently deploying hundreds of soldiers to Gwa to prevent an offensive by the Arakan Army (AA).
As the junta loses towns in Rakhine State to rapid advances by the AA the junta has destroyed bridges in Sittwe, Taungup, and Gwa towns with landmines. They also used bulldozers to destroy some roads around Ann Town in Rakhine State.
In February 2024, just south of Ann Town, in Rakhine State’s Kyaukphyu Township, junta troops destroyed Kyaukgyi Pauk Bridge in Kyaukphyu, Ma Ei Bridge in Ma Ei Town and the Min Chaung Bridge on the Sittwe to Yangon Road.
There has been an increase in military tension between the AA and the junta in in the Rakhine State towns of Ann, Maungdaw, and Thandwe. There has been fighting in Jeiktaw Village in Thandwe Township, and the AA has been aggressively attacking the Maung Shwe Lay Navy Base, the last junta battalion defending Thandwe township.
