"The Tatmadaw launched the offensive last week based on information that the five villages harboured AA fighters, said U Khin Maung Latt, MP for Rakhine in the Amyotha Hluttaw (Upper House). "There is no one left in the villages now," he added. He identified the villages as Kyauk Tan, Aung Thar Si, Maung Phyu, Yeah Poat, and Kyaw Yan Thar Si. Colonel Min Than, Rakhine’s minister for Security and Border Affairs, had warned local officials that the Tatmadaw planned a “clearance operation” in Kyauk Tan and nearby areas on June 25. The government had ordered the Tatmadaw not to use the term "clearance operation," as the villagers could misunderstand it to be an all-out attack, so Colonel Min Than revoked his order on June 26. The offensive was launched days after three border police and their civilian drivers were killed in an ambush by the AA in Koetenkauk village on June 23. Another four police officers and a civilian were injured.