Arakan Army takes Rathedaung, its eighth town seizure in Rakhine State

The Arakan Army (AA) seized Rathedaung, a major town connecting the Rakhine capital of Sittwe with the state’s north, on Sunday, according to a statement released by the ethnic armed organisation. Despite heavy military offensives by the junta from the ground, water, and air, the AA said it captured three bases belonging to Infantry Battalions (IBs) 536, 537, and 538 at 4pm in the town, located on the Mayu River upstream from Sittwe. Fighting between the AA and the junta resumed last November, resulting in mass displacement. Residents have fled Rathedaung, warned by the AA not to return until mines left by the junta have been located and deactivated. In its Sunday statement, the AA noted that around 200 junta soldiers escaped the attack by leaving on navy boats, abandoning the bodies of slain troops and ethnic Rohingya conscripts, who the AA referred to as “Bengalis,” using a term long rejected by the community for the implication that they are outsiders from neighbouring Bangladesh. Nearly 100 Rohingya youth from internally displaced persons’ camps in Sittwe were recently taken by the Myanmar junta and forced to fight against the AA in Rathedaung, where at least five were initially killed. The AA added that its next target in the region would be the base of IB 552 in Buthidaung Township. Local media reported several civilian casualties due to junta airstrikes and artillery fire in Mrauk-U and Pauktaw on Sunday, where the AA is in control. On Monday, a major aerial attack by the military in Minbya Township was said to have killed more than 20 people. Myanmar Now was unable to independently verify the figures from the incidents in question. Phone and internet service have been cut off to townships in northern Rakhine State, and travel to the region has been banned, making it difficult to obtain updates from the region. Including Rathedaung, in recent months the AA has taken control of eight towns across Rakhine, as well as Paletwa in southern Chin State. Prior to the seizure of Rathedaung, the group’s most recent victory over the military was in Ramree, south of Kyaukphyu. The others include Kyauktaw, Minbya, Mrauk-U, Myebon, Pauktaw and Ponnagyun.

Arakan Army takes Rathedaung, its eighth town seizure in Rakhine State

The ethnic Rakhine armed group overtook three military bases as the junta retaliates elsewhere with airstrikes and artillery fire targeting civilians

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