Village torched in Rakhine State as Myanmar army loses more ground to AA

The Arakan Army (AA) announced on Wednesday that they had succeeded in capturing the bases manned by three junta battalions the previous night in Mrauk-U Township, Rakhine State. The Rakhine ethnic armed organisation defeated and forced Light Infantry Battalions (LIB) 540, 377 and 378 from their bases on Tuesday night, the AA statement said. The statement did not provide any information on the number of casualties or prisoners taken on either side. The military council did not comment publicly on the battles for control of its bases in Mrauk-U, but issued a statement claiming that ‘enemy forces’, not army troops, were responsible for arson attacks that had occurred in the neighbouring Ponnagyun Township. The AA has been attacking junta bases in Rakhine State and the nearby Paletwa Township, Chin State since mid-November 2023. When junta forces shelled the Mrauk-U Archaeological Research Museum using heavy artillery on December 25, the AA vowed in a public statement to carry out an appropriate response. The AA flag is hoisted at the Mrauk-U District police station Mrauk-U, which was founded in the fifteenth century and served as the capital of the Mrauk-U kingdom, holds a significant place in the cultural heritage of the Rakhine people and has been proposed as a UNESCO world heritage site. The AA took over a district-level police station in northern Mrauk-U Township on December 26, 2023 after three days of assaults. Photos of the AA raising its flag over at the entry gate to the town and the Mrauk-U police station circulated widely on social media. Two days later, AA fighters also seized the Myaung Bway village police station around 11 miles south of Mrauk-U. In addition to capturing key junta military and police outposts in Mrauk-U, the AA has also taken over junta bases under the army’s 9th Military Operations Command based in Kyauktaw Township, Rakhine State, located just northwest of Mrauk-U Township. Both Kyauktaw and Mrauk-U townships share borders with Chin State’s Paletwa Township. The armed organisation has also captured junta bases in Minbya Township, located north of Kyauktaw. On Wednesday, the AA engaged in combat with junta forces in Ponnagyun Township, located in the same district as the Rakhine State capital, Sittwe. A clash with army troops between the villages of Aung Zay Ya and Aung Myay Kone in Ponnagyun Township lasted for nearly an hour, resulting in injuries on both sides according to local media outlets and the AA’s public statements. The clash was reportedly fierce, with the military deploying air and artillery support for their infantry forces. “The battle was intense. Aircraft dropped bombs as troops fought on the ground. Drones were used as well and the battle lasted the entire day,” a resident of Ponnagyun Township said. Although the AA defeated the junta troops and forced them to withdraw, the retreating soldiers set fires in the village of Sar Kon Boke on the Mingan Creek. The Ponnagyun Township resident added that the military not only torched most of Sar Kon Boke, a small village of about 30 households, but also killed a mentally disabled woman in her 40s who had been unable to flee. The military council issued a statement almost immediately in response to reports about the arson attack, claiming “enemy forces” had come and set fires in the village while the junta troops were there. Although there has been little to no recent fighting in the villages of Sa Par Htar and Aung Zay Ya, Ponnagyun Township, the junta air force has reportedly been bombing the villages since around 10am on Friday and firing heavy artillery from a nearby base. The shelling was likely from the only junta battalion currently based in Ponnagyun Township: LIB 550. The AA has now taken over Paletwa and Pauktaw townships and is continuing its efforts to take full control of Minbya, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Rathedaung, and Ramree townships.

Village torched in Rakhine State as Myanmar army loses more ground to AA

The military council blamed ‘enemy forces’ for torching a village in Ponnagyun Township despite admitting junta troops were in the village at the time

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