"More than 190 homes in an abandoned village in northern Rakhine state were set ablaze Saturday, locals told Myanmar Now. Villagers fled Lekkar village, in Mrauk-U township, for nearby monasteries and displaced persons camps more than a year ago, when fighting between the military and the Arakan Army (AA) intensified there. Residents in Pi Pin Yin village, about a mile and a half from Lekkar, heard gunshots and an explosion around 2pm Saturday, then saw smoke rising from the village, a local monk who requested anonymity told Myanmar Now. The monk is a native of Lekkar but is currently living in Pi Pin Yin. He said his relatives’ homes were lost in the fire. The residents of nearby villages, including Pi Pin Yin and Bu Ywat Ma Nyo, told Myanmar Now they saw Tatmadaw troops entering the village around the time the fires began and the monk in Pi Pin Yin said he saw the same troops leaving around 5pm. Nearby villagers also told the Sittwe-based Development Media Group they saw about 50 Tatmadaw soldiers enter the village just before the gunshots and fires began. The military’s commander-in-chief said in a statement released on Sunday that Tatmadaw troops entered the village Saturday afternoon while patrolling the area and were attacked by the AA. When Tatmadaw troops fired back, it said, AA soldiers began setting the homes on fire before retreating into the mountains east of the village..."