Villages were allegedly set alight by the Burmese military as fighting erupted in western Myanmar.

Video shows homes being engulfed by flames in Buthidaung town on August 29. At least three villages, including Mee Kyaung Zay, Thin Ga Net, and Nga Yant Chaung were affected, with residents reportedly left homeless.

Local media reported that more than 400 ethnic residents in the Maungdaw township some 16 miles north of Buthidaung were displaced after skirmishes broke out between Burmese soldiers and the ethnic armed group Arakan Army on August 26.

The Burmese junta allegedly employs arson as one of its counterinsurgency tactics.

The struggle between armed militias and the Burmese military has intensified amid the political turmoil in Myanmar caused by the ousting of former leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.