Arakan Army leader urges locals to leave Sittwe and Kyaukphyu ahead of ‘decisive battles’

Twan Mrat Naing, the leader of the Arakan Army (AA), warned on Wednesday that “decisive battles” could break out soon for control of the Rakhine State capital Sittwe and the key port town of Kyaukphyu, and that residents should be prepared to evacuate. The AA commander-in-chief made the remarks on the 15th anniversary of the group’s founding and amid an ongoing anti-regime offensive that has seen it capture eight townships in Rakhine State and one in neighbouring Chin State. The AA was founded in 2009 in the Kachin State town of Laiza, where the Kachin Independence Army, an allied ethnic armed group, is headquartered. It launched its offensive in Rakhine State last November as part of a wider operation carried out by the Brotherhood Alliance, whose other two members are based in northern Shan State. Since then, it has seized dozens of junta bases and forced thousands of regime troops, including high-ranking officers, to surrender. Weapons and ammunition seized by the AA from a junta artillery battalion based in Kyauktaw on January 14 (AA) It currently controls Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Minbya, Rathedaung, Ponnagyun, Pauktaw, Myebon, and Ramree townships in Rakhine State and Paletwa Township in southern Chin State. Recent fighting has focussed on Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships, in the northern part of Rakhine State bordering Bangladesh, but clashes have also been reported in Ann Township, where the regime’s Western Regional Military Command headquarters are located. Twan Mrat Naing’s warning to residents of Sittwe and Kyaukphyu also served to put the regime on notice that the AA intends to push forward with its plans to capture the entire state. In the past, the military has been able to defeat the AA in battle by relying on naval vessels. However, since the current conflict began, the AA has succeeded in sinking a number of the regime’s warships.

Arakan Army leader urges locals to leave Sittwe and Kyaukphyu ahead of ‘decisive battles’

The warning also served to put the regime on notice that the group plans to push ahead with its bid to take full control of Rakhine State

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