Rakhine ethnic armed organisation closer to taking control of Myanmar-Bangladesh border

The Arakan Army (AA), which has been waging a relentless military campaign against the junta in western Myanmar, has claimed control of key areas along the country’s border with Bangladesh after recently overrunning major army bases. Paletwa in Chin State and Maungdaw and Buthidaung in northern Rakhine State are the region’s strategic towns located near the 270-kilometre border in question. Paletwa—located along the Kaladan River, which flows from northeastern India through Myanmar to the Bay of Bengal—has been under the control of the Rakhine ethnic armed organisation since January. Sources close to the AA’s leadership anticipate that within weeks, the group will gain full control of Maungdaw and Buthidaung, enabling the group to consolidate its influence along the border. Map showing the location of the key towns near the Myanmar-Bangladesh border Pe Than, a Rakhine politician affiliated with the AA’s political wing, the United League of Arakan, said that the capture of these towns would ensure “tight control of a vast swath of Myanmar’s west.” “Our operation areas would be firm and secure, and we would not need to fear the junta’s attacks from the rear,” he told Myanmar Now. “From these two towns, we can continue onward to occupy the capital city of Sittwe.” According to AA statements, after an extended siege, on May 2 the organisation captured the junta’s No. 15 Military Operations Command centre—known as MOC 15—east of Buthidaung. Video footage released by the AA showed hundreds of Myanmar army troops from MOC 15 surrendering, including its deputy battalion commander, as well as family members of soldiers. The footage also shows troops who had sustained injuries. Some are believed to be Rohingya Muslims who were recently forcibly conscripted into the junta’s forces and whose population—restricted from citizenship and freedom of movement—is largely concentrated in Maungdaw and Buthidaung, as well as several internally displaced persons’ camps in the state. The AA also overran several regime border guard outposts in Maungdaw in recent months. On April 12, the junta lost control of its tactical base in the village of Kyein Chaung, where more than 100 soldiers and 400 border guard troops had been stationed. The AA occupied two strategically important border guard posts in northern Maungdaw in early February: Taung Pyo Let Wei and Taung Pyo Let Yar. The sites had been guarded by hundreds of junta police who reportedly surrendered to the AA. A soldier outside the Commanding Office No. 1 of the Border Guard Police in October 2016 (AFP) Politician Pe Than speculated that if the AA is successful in establishing control over Maungdaw and Buthidaung, goods will flow freely from Bangladesh, and the ethnic armed organisation may be able to ease the junta’s blockade on trade routes connecting Rakhine State with the rest of Myanmar. “Currently, people in Rakhine State rely on the flow of goods from India through Paletwa, which borders both India and Bangladesh, but the goods are mainly sourced from Indian towns,” he explained. “The trade route from the Indian border to towns occupied by AA is long, whereas the trade routes with Bangladesh are much shorter and the bilateral trade with Bangladesh in Rakhine is much more developed.” At the time of reporting, the AA was continuing its attacks on the remaining military bases in Buthidaung and Maungdaw, as well as on Sittwe, while the junta has reportedly been carrying out airstrikes in an attempt to force an AA retreat. Battles are also occurring in the southern Rakhine State townships of Kyaukphyu and Thandwe, and the AA has declared an attack on the army’s Taw Hein Taung tactical camp in Ann Township. The AA has captured several towns in Rakhine in recent months, including Kyauktaw, on the Kaladan River south of Paletwa, and the ancient city of Mrauk-U.

Rakhine ethnic armed organisation closer to taking control of Myanmar-Bangladesh border

After recent military gains in the region, the Arakan Army may soon fully capture the strategic northern Rakhine State towns of Maungdaw and Buthidaung

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