Around 300 Myanmar junta soldiers surrender to Arakan Army

Some 300 junta troops stationed in northern Rakhine State’s Kyauktaw Township surrendered to the Arakan Army (AA) on Tuesday, according to local media reports. The soldiers, from Infantry Battalion (IB) 539, and their family members can be seen in a video circulating on social media being marched away by armed AA troops. Many of the regime soldiers are out of uniform and most appear to be in handcuffs. A screenshot of a video circulating on social media shows AA soldiers escorting junta soldiers and their family members after their surrender in Kyauktaw on January 16 The AA, which captured the town of Paletwa in southern Chin State on Sunday, is continuing its offensive in western Myanmar despite a ceasefire declared last week in northern Shan State. That ceasefire, between Myanmar’s military and the Brotherhood Alliance, of which the AA is a member, was brokered by China to stabilise the situation along the two countries’ shared border after more than two months of fighting. Most of the recent hostilities have taken place across a wide swathe of northern Rakhine and southern Chin states, where the AA, an ethnic Rakhine armed group, is mainly active. On Monday, the group claimed that it had taken control of two junta positions in Kyauktaw and Rathedaung townships over the weekend after seizing another camp in Mrauk-U last Friday. The IB 539 base, located on the Kan Sauk hill, was the junta’s only remaining outpost in Kyauktaw, which is now believed to be under AA control. The group, which has yet to confirm its capture of the base, was unavailable for comment when contacted by Myanmar Now. As its control over Myanmar’s westernmost states continues to weaken, the military has carried out relentless artillery and aerial assaults on civilian targets in the region. Residents of Kyauktaw say that many locals have fled to escape the bombardment, which has continued for several weeks and is expected to worsen as the AA makes further gains. One woman from the town told Myanmar Now that she has been unable to reach family members still living there since Monday because the military has cut both power and phone lines. “I’m not even sure if my father and younger brother are still there,” she said. The military’s indiscriminate attacks in the conflict zone have killed at least 10 people since the start of the week, according to the AA and other sources. Thousands have also been forced to flee as the fighting continues two months into the AA’s ongoing offensive, which it launched in mid-November as part of the Brotherhood Alliance’s bid to oust the regime that seized power in February 2021. In addition to several northern Rakhine townships, including Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Minbya, and Rathedaung, heavy fighting has also been reported near Kyaukphyu, the site of major Chinese investment projects. Local media also reported that the airport in the Rakhine State capital Sittwe had been hit by drones on Monday, leaving five people injured. “It was a massive explosion,” a resident of a village near the airport told Myanmar Now. “I was sitting at home and it felt like an earthquake had struck.” According to the villager, soldiers later arrived to ask residents what they saw, but no arrests were made. Security in Sittwe has since been tightened, local media reported.

Around 300 Myanmar junta soldiers surrender to Arakan Army

The northern Rakhine State town of Kyauktaw, where the surrender took place, is now believed to be under full AA control

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