"Nearly two weeks after the military announced new “clearance operations” in northern Rakhine state, villagers continue to flee their homes. The operation has focused on Kyauktan village, in Rathedaung township, but has also spilled into villages in nearby Ann township. Border affairs and security minister colonel Min Than, who announced the operation, told Myanmar Now on Monday that the military had clashed with Arakan Army (AA) troops outside of Kyauktan over the weekend and into the week. The AA, an armed ethnic Rakhine group, is fighting for greater state autonomy. The government earlier this year declared them a terrorist organisation. “We can’t just let the AA occupy this area and not attack them,” he said. Htay Aung, who fled Kyauktan just after the operation was announced, on June 23, told Myanmar Now earlier this week that he can still hear the artillery fire from the town of Rathedaung, where he is now sheltering. He said the military was targeting Kyauktan and nearby Aung Thar Si village. Rathedaung MP Khin Maung Latt told Myanmar Now military troops entered the area on June 28 and 29 and that the clashes are still ongoing. “We haven’t heard gunfire today but the markets and shops are still closed,” he said on Monday. At about 7pm on June 26, artillery shelling killed two villagers in Nat Maw village, thirty miles northwest of the city of Ann..."