Myanmar military sends reinforcements as Arakan Army makes gains in Ann, Rakhine State

Sources close to the Arakan Army (AA) said that the Myanmar army deployed fresh forces to Ann, Rakhine State on Monday as the AA drew nearer to the military’s regional headquarters in the city. A convoy carrying around 100 troops arrived from Magway Region, a source familiar with AA strategic planning said, while the AA took over the old town section of Ann and continued offensive operations with the objective of capturing the junta’s Western Regional Military Command (RMC) headquarters. Although the military airdropped weapons and ammunition for its troops in Ann on Sunday, the same source added, the parcels did not reach the Western RMC base. “We have already taken control of the old town. The supplies dropped by parachutes didn’t land within the Western Command compound—they were scattered everywhere,” the AA-connected source claimed. He added that a convoy of 10 vehicles carrying more than 100 troops departed from the city of Magway in the region of the same name on Monday, heading towards Ann to support the junta forces and prevent the imminent fall of the Western RMC. Civilians trapped by incessant clashes A man from Ann said that some residents of the town, unable to escape to safety, had remained as the fighting escalated. “Ann is a town heavily fortified by the junta, with large forces. Both sides are using heavy weapons, and the military council has also sent the air force. The AA and their allies have surrounded the town from all sides, firing artillery,” he said, adding that the junta has relocated residents from villages near Ann to the urban area. “Some people risk their lives to escape because they can’t even buy a pyi of rice, even for 10,000 kyat (US $5),” the Ann resident said. “Now they’re forced to boil rice with extra water just to have something to eat.” The civilian death toll during the clashes remains unknown. The fight for Ann Following a six-month pause in fighting, the clashes for control of Ann resumed near Ann Township’s Kyauk Sa Kwe village Township in the final week of September. On the same day, the AA launched offensives against the nearby Mae Taung strategic hilltop base, located some 10 miles northwest of Ann, which soon received air support, artillery support, and reinforcements from bases in Sagaing Region and from the Western RMC in Ann. Weapons and ammunition confiscated at the Mae Taung hill base (Photo: AA Info Desk) The AA set up a blockade, cutting off access to the Mae Taung base, before capturing it on October 7 and seizing ammunition, weapons, and other military equipment. Advancing along the Minbya-Ann road, the AA then took over territory near the Ann Airport, as well as assaulting a military hospital and the Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 373 base near the town entrance on October 16. AA forces then attacked and overran the LIB 372 base east of the airport and advanced towards the Western RMC on the south side of Ann. While advancing, the fighters took over a military security battalion base, a medical battalion base, and field engineering battalion base. Pe Than, a politician and former member of the Rakhine State parliament, predicted that the AA would soon capture Ann as well as the state’s Maungdaw and Gwa townships, where clashes are ongoing. “They are already in Ann,” Pe Than said, referring to the AA. “The only stronghold left in Maungdaw is the [Border Guard Police]-5 station. I think they could capture those three towns within a month.” He noted that junta troops would lack direction if the Western RMC were to fall. Office of the military’s Western Regional Military Command in Ann (Google Earth). “Since this is a military command in Ann, its territory extends to southern and eastern Chin State. This headquarters oversees a vast area. In other words, it is the ‘head’ of the entire region and if the head is cut off, the whole body will be immobilised. That’s why they’re defending it so fiercely,” he said.“If the command falls, they would have no choice but to either surrender or resist, as there would be no way out,” he added. Arakan Army’s resistance allies In Chin State, which shares Rakhine State’s northern border, and Magway Region, which borders Rakhine State to the east, local armed resistance groups that formed in response to Myanmar’s 2021 military coup have forged alliances with the AA. Some of these groups, including People’s Revolution Alliance of Magway (PRA-Magway) based in Ngape Township as well as the Student Armed Force (SAF) and the People Independence Army (PIA), have been fighting alongside the AA in the Ann operations and along the Ann-Padan road. Battalion 2 of the Minbu District People’s Defence Force (PDF), commanded by the publicly mandated National Unity Government (NUG), also released a statement on Monday claiming its fighters ambushed two army cars escorted by two motorcycles on the Ann-Padan road in Ngape Township, Magway Region. The army personnel were returning from Ann, according to the statement, where they had been delivering rations to the junta troops stationed there. Members of the People’s Defense Force (PDF) in Minbu Township, Magway Region in April (Photo: Minbu District PDF Battalion 2) The ambush—executed with help from the Chinland Defence Force-Asho (ACDF)—resulted in the deaths of 10 junta personnel, the Minbu District PDF claimed. Although the military has continued to report on the state of battle in most of Myanmar, they have remained silent and suppressed information on recent clashes in Rakhine State. The first clashes in Ann Township this year occurred between January and March, followed by a pause until September while the AA fought junta forces elsewhere in the state. The capture of the township, which was home to some 120,000 inhabitants before the military coup, would be important more for military than economic reasons. However, a gas and oil pipeline—the construction of which was backed by investment from China— runs through Ann Township on a 700-kilometre path from its starting point in the coastal township of Kyaukphyu, Rakhine State to China’s Yunnan Province. Capturing Ann could position the AA to exert control over the pipeline as well as the deep-sea port project also under development in Kyaukphyu with backing from Chinese investors. Pe Than was optimistic about the AA’s chances of continuing to score victories against the military, especially if they are able to capture Ann. “The situation will be more evident this month, particularly in Ann and Maungdaw,” he said. “In short, the conflict between the AA and the junta has escalated, resulting in a broader battlefield, and with the AA achieving more victories, its administrative area has increased.” The AA has taken control of 10 of Rakhine State’s 17 townships from junta forces, and also controls a neighbouring township in Chin State. AA members assisted victims of Cyclone Mocha in May of last year (Photo: Raung Ni/Myanmar Now)

Myanmar military sends reinforcements as Arakan Army makes gains in Ann, Rakhine State

As the Rakhine ethnic armed organisation came closer to capturing the town of Ann—the site of the junta’s Western Regional Military Command headquarters—100 fresh troops arrived in a convoy from neighbouring Magway Region

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