Arakan Army seizes control of key town near Rakhine capital Sittwe

The Arakan Army (AA) says that it has captured the last remaining junta base near Ponnagyun, giving it full control of the town about 20 miles northeast of the Rakhine State capital Sittwe. In a statement released on Monday, the group said that the base, under Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 550, fell after 11 days of fighting that began on February 23. In response, the regime carried out 12 airstrikes in the area beginning at around 5pm, the statement added. According to a local woman, a factory and several houses were damaged by the regime’s retaliatory actions.“The AA captured the town by around 1pm and the airstrikes started at 4 or 5pm. Later in the night, they also fired three heavy artillery shells from Padaleik Ward in Sittwe,” said the woman. She added that she also saw some of the weapons and ammunition captured from the LIB 550 troops. “There was a lot, including drones. It was spread out on a tarpaulin sheet, like it was all for sale. It was very motivating,” she said. However, due to the risk of further airstrikes, residents have yet to return to the town, said the woman, who added that the village of Kwandaung in Ponnagyun Township was hit by an aerial assault at around 10am on Tuesday. The fall of Ponnagyun to the AA means that the group now controls two of the four townships in Sittwe District. On January 20, it captured Pauktaw, another town just east of Sittwe and south of Ponnagyun. The Ponnagyun-Rathedaung highway, seen in January 2021 (Myanmar Now) Heavy fighting continues in Sittwe and Rathedaung, the other two townships in the district, with only three outposts in Rathedaung still in the junta’s control and most residents of Sittwe fleeing as the conflict there intensifies. “The population is now less than half what it was. The only people still here are those like me who can’t afford to pay 200,000 or 300,000 kyat to get out,” said one Sittwe resident. Last Friday, the AA announced that it destroyed two armoured vehicles that were part of a junta convoy travelling to Ponnagyun from Sittwe. Attempts to send reinforcements by air and aboard naval vessels have also been unsuccessful and resulted in heavy regime casualties, the AA claimed. Sittwe’s Point beach in May 2023 (Myanmar Now) Early last week, the AA claimed in a statement that it had killed at least 80 junta soldiers as they were being airlifted into the southern Rakhine town of Ramree by helicopter on February 24 and 25. However, Myanmar Now was unable to independently confirm the exact location of the incident or the number of junta casualties. Meanwhile, the group has also accused the regime of destroying bridges and other infrastructure to slow the advance of AA forces, including the Min Chaung bridge on the Sittwe-Yangon highway. The AA said that such desperate measures would fail to prevent the group from achieving its goal of taking full control of the state. “I would just like to say that we will sculpt the future of Rakhine State, where we have full autonomy, with our own hands,” said AA spokesperson Khaing Thukha at a press conference on Monday. The AA currently controls six of the 17 townships in Rakhine State. Despite the success of its offensive, however, it continues to face retaliatory attacks in areas under its control. On February 27, one airstrike in Minbya Township destroyed a hospital and severely injured many of its patients and staff, according to the AA, which said it would begin implementing an early warning system in areas under its control.

Arakan Army seizes control of key town near Rakhine capital Sittwe

The regime responded to the capture of its last base in Ponnagyun by carrying out air and artillery attacks, according to locals

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