In Meezalikone town of Ingapu Township, Ayeyarwady Region, the military council is preparing to conduct defensive military training in anticipation of potential entry by combined forces of the Arakan Army (AA) and People’s Defense Force (PDF). Local residents report that the military is forcibly collecting 300,000 kyats from each business owner and 10,000 kyats from each household. Since early May, military council troops have arrived in Meezalikone town and begun forcibly recruiting civilians for military training. The military has designated Meezalikone as a defensive sub-command center under the Southwest Military Command, planning to use it as a key defensive position if AA and PDF forces enter from Htoogyi town.
The military council is collecting money from business owners allegedly to purchase vehicles for transporting trainees, while the funds collected from households are claimed to be for feeding the military trainees. The military is also forcibly summoning young people from villages within Ingapu Township to Meezalikone town. In mid-May, citing the potential entry of AA and allied forces, the military council conducted successive airstrikes on villages throughout Ingapu Township. On May 15, they bombed a school in Chingautgwin village and the Shwenya Betel Shop near the 31 Sawmill, with the latter being destroyed by fire. Later that night, military aircraft from Base 5 in Gwaingauk conducted additional airstrikes on Baybyarkone, Sasigwin, and Chingautgwin villages.
On May 16, two military aircraft conducted further airstrikes on Wartawgwin, Kyetpaungkone, and Thanpayarkone villages. Due to these continuous aerial attacks, residents from all affected villages have been forced to flee to safer locations. Even the military council-appointed administrators have reportedly fled their posts. The ongoing military operations have created a humanitarian crisis in the region, with civilians bearing the brunt of the military council’s aggressive actions as it attempts to establish control over the area through force and intimidation.
