Rebel army advances on junta’s western headquarters in Myanmar’s Rakhine state

Read RFA coverage of this story in Burmese

Heavy fighting is underway in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state between junta troops and ethnic rebels in the vicinity of the military’s western command center, trapping civilians in the crossfire, residents said Friday.

The Arakan Army, or AA, battling for self-determination for the mostly Buddhist Rakhine people, has taken territory across Rakhine state and controls 10 of the state’s 17 townships, and one in neighboring Chin state since the military’s February 2021 coup d’etat.

It would be the first rebel group to take over a state if it seizes all territory in military control there, as it has vowed to do.

Clashes have intensified since the AA launched an offensive on Sept. 26 against military positions in Rakhine’s Ann township, capturing the military’s Taw Heing Taung and Me Taung strategic hills. The junta has since sent reinforcements to the area.

The fighting is now located around five kilometers (three miles) from the junta’s Western Regional Military Command, according to residents who spoke to RFA Burmese on condition of anonymity, due to security concerns.

“The AA has been firing heavy weapons both day and night at the western command, Light Infantry Battalion No. 373, and the artillery battalion in Ann township,” said one resident, adding that the military has responded with multiple airstrikes. “The fighting is escalating in downtown Ann now.”

RELATED STORIES:

Myanmar junta airstrike kills civilians sheltering in rebel territory

Rebels battle for Myanmar junta’s western military headquarters

Rebel army closes in on 2 townships in western Myanmar

A resident of Ann said that inhabitants of the town have tried to escape the fighting, “but the junta won’t let them.”

“People are living in constant fear, uncertain of what might happen next,” the resident said. “There is a severe shortage of food, medicine, and medical care, as hospitals and clinics are struggling to provide services.”

According to the resident, the price of medicine at local markets is now “far beyond the reach of ordinary citizens,” while transportation has become extremely difficult as “gasoline prices have soared to more than 30,000 kyats (US$14) per liter.”

Travel prohibited

Another resident of Ann, who also declined to be named, said junta forces ended departures on Wednesday, when they stopped 15 vehicles carrying more than 100 people attempting to flee to nearby Pa Dan and Min Bu townships.

“It remains unclear where the passengers have been taken,” he said.

Attempts by RFA to contact AA spokesperson Khaing Thukha went unanswered Friday, as did efforts to reach the junta’s Rakhine state spokesperson Hla Thein.

Fighting between the AA and junta forces in Rakhine state began around a year ago, when the AA ended a ceasefire that had been in place since the military coup.

Residents of Rakhine state say that the junta has been conducting more aerial attacks on civilian areas in townships which were lost to the AA, as well as areas of intense fighting.

Data compiled by RFA found that junta airstrikes killed 93 civilians and wounded 66 others in Rakhine’s Thandwe, Maungdaw, Pauktaw, Myaebon and Toungup townships in September alone.

Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.