Myanmar military loses airport to anti-junta fighters in southern Rakhine State

The ethnic armed organisation Arakha Army (AA) took control of a vital airport from junta forces in Thandwe Township, Rakhine State on Sunday, according to locals and sources close to the group. The airport is located close to the base of the Myanmar army’s Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 566 and to beach resorts outside the town of Ngapali, an historically popular tourist destination frequented by Myanmar military troops for recreation. The beach is the site of a cluster of luxury hotels owned by cronies of the Myanmar military and high-ranking officials. Clashes have continued since the AA took control of the airport, as the group is still attempting to capture the LIB 566 base and the Infantry Battalion 55 base in Ngapali’s Zee Hpyu Kone ward, residents of Thandwe Township said. “Last night the AA occupied Thandwe Airport, which is very close to junta LIB 566,” said a Thandwe resident who requested anonymity. “So it won’t take long for it to fall. With the capture of the airport, reinforcements are now cut off.” Another source close to the AA confirmed on Monday that the airport, which is a strategic hub for military supplies and reinforcements, is fully under the group’s control. The airport has been closed for civilian use since April, according to local travel agents. Ngapali residents said they have been unable to leave the town since the military blocked roads in Thandwe Township on Monday morning. Photo shows fishermen in May 2016, unloading their catch near Ngapali beach in Thandwe Township. (EPA/Lynn Bo Bo) “They blocked the road at the traffic signal intersection at around 10 this morning,” a resident said, referring to junta soldiers. “They also imposed a curfew from 9pm to 4am yesterday.” The AA has been pushing steadily into the township since early June, when fighting erupted near the village of Gawt, three miles from the airport, and the village of Sin Gaung, farther north on the shore. Clashes intensified near the airport last week, displacing local civilians from the Ngapali’s Zee Hpyu Kone ward and the nearby villages of Nat Yay Kan and Ma Zin, residents said. “The army sent around 150 reinforcements from the naval base in Kwin Waing village to Ngapali,” a witness in Ngapali’s Gyeik Taw ward said. Junta airstrikes killed two civilians, injured two, and forced many to flee their homes in Shwe Kyaung Pyin village on the outskirts of Thandwe over the weekend, locals said. Since launching an anti-regime offensive in November 2023, the AA has captured more than half of Rakhine State’s 17 townships from the military as well as Paletwa Township in Chin State. The group is still fighting for control of Ann, Maungdaw, and Thandwe townships. On the same day their fighters took control of the Thandwe airport, sources also claim the group captured a junta tactical base in Ann Township, the location of the Myanmar army’s western regional military command headquarters. The AA, historically known as the “Arakan Army”, announced that it had changed its name to the “Arakha Army” in April.

Myanmar military loses airport to anti-junta fighters in southern Rakhine State

Two junta bases are located near the captured airport in Thandwe Township, which the junta relied on to send reinforcements and supplies to the area

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