ASEANEWS HEADLINE-CIVIL WAR | Myanmar: AA launches new offensive to seize another Rakhine State town from Myanmar junta
A junta soldier wearing the Western Command insignia is seen in Sittwe in early January 2021 (Myanmar Now)
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Fighting from control of Ann Township in the central part of the state began late last week, the group’s spokesperson said
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The Arakan Army (AA) says it has begun a new offensive in central Rakhine State’s Ann Township, where the junta’s Western Regional Military Command (RMC) is headquartered, as fierce fighting continues in both the north and the south of the state.
Khaing Thukha, the group’s spokesperson, confirmed on Tuesday that the AA opened a new front near the town of Ann last week. The fighting, which began on September 26, has been centred on Mae Taung Hill, about five miles from the town, he said.
A resident of the area who has been monitoring the situation said that fighting has been intense since the offensive started, with the regime forces concentrating its efforts on defending the RMC headquarters.
Memento Maxima Digital Marketing“They’ve been fighting non-stop, night and day. The junta has sent many soldiers from the town to Mae Taung Hill, which means the AA may be able to capture Ann easily,” he said.
“There are hardly any soldiers left in Ann. The two sides are exchanging heavy artillery fire, with the AA targeting the Western Command headquarters,” he added.
According to an AA statement released last Friday, the fighting began with a clash that broke out near the village of Kyauksakwe at around noon the day before. The battle, with a junta column of around 100 troops, lasted nearly two hours, the statement said.
Five regime soldiers were found dead and their weapons, ammunition, and other military equipment were seized, it added.
Another clash broke out in the same area the next morning, resulting in further junta casualties and the column’s retreat, according to the AA statement.
Meanwhile, the AA said its troops are intensifying their efforts to capture the last outpost in northern Rakhine State’s Maungdaw Township still under the regime’s control.
A local told Myanmar Now that the regime unleashed multiple airstrikes near the Border Guard Police Battalion 5 outpost on Friday in an effort to defend it from AA attacks.
“They dropped a lot of bombs,” he said, adding that at least 30 houses were destroyed by fire in Maungdaw’s Ward 2 on Sunday as a result of heavy aerial bombardment.
AA spokesperson Khaing Thukha acknowledged that the AA’s efforts to take over the town were still far from over. “The fighting is ongoing. We still have a lot to do,” he said.
Fighting has also been reported in southern Rakhine State’s Gwa Township, where the military has been relentlessly attacking the AA-controlled town of Kyeintali.
“Kyeintali is a town that we’ve already captured, but it is still being targeted by shelling and airstrikes,” said Khaing Thukha, adding that a clash also broke out on a hill near the town last week.
“There was a two-hour battle near the village of Kyaukbasap on the Kyeintali road on September 24,” he said.
The AA has declared that its goal is to take full control of Rakhine State, forcing out all remaining junta forces. Since ending its ceasefire with the regime in November of last year, it has captured 10 of the state’s 17 townships, as well as Paletwa in Chin State.
The group has also blockaded the state capital Sittwe and the major port town of Kyaukphyu, site of large-scale Chinese-backed development projects.
In response, the junta has carried out indiscriminate air and artillery attacks, resulting in heavy casualties among the civilian population, including those displaced by conflict.
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