The Arakan Army (AA) carried out a series of attacks on junta targets in Rakhine State on Monday, opening a new front in a major anti-regime offensive that began in Myanmar’s northeast more than two weeks ago.
According to AA spokesperson Khaing Thukha, the group mounted the assaults in Rathedaung and Minbya townships, in the northern part of the state near the capital Sittwe, early Monday morning.
“Some bases were taken and the fighting is ongoing in some places. We captured some officers, but I haven’t received exact details about that yet,” Khaing Thukha told Myanmar Now several hours after the attacks began.
The initial targets were two border guard stations located in the villages of Done Paik and Chein Khar Li in Rathedaung Township, which both came under attack at around 5:30am.
“I heard that the Done Paik border guard station has completely fallen. At Chein Khar Li, I heard that one person is still returning fire, so it’s not over yet,” said a local resident contacted early in the day.
According to another resident of the area, people living in the two affected villages have had to flee due to heavy shelling by regime forces stationed in the town of Rathedaung. Others have also had to take cover, he added.
“We’re using bomb shelters and just staying where we are. They’re firing heavy weapons, so there’s nowhere for us to run,” he said.
Just over two hours later, another attack took place between the villages of Hpay Thar Pyin and Hpar Pyo (Pin Pyar) on the Yangon-Sittwe highway in Minbya Township.
“Some junta troops were passing through an AA-controlled gate when the AA opened fire on them. I don’t know how many casualties there were, but I know their vehicles were set on fire. I can still see the smoke,” said a local who spoke to Myanmar Now on condition of anonymity.
In response, junta troops stationed on a nearby mountain opened fire with heavy artillery. At least one civilian, a farmer in his 50s named Kyaw Thein Phyu, is known to have been injured by the shelling.
The sudden outbreak of hostilities has also caused a panic in Sittwe, where the regime has closed all roads and waterways into and out of the city.
“A lot of people are in the market, buying up dry goods and rice. Express boat services have been suspended. They’ve closed the gates, so people outside of town can’t get in and people in town can’t get out,” said one Sittwe resident.
Today’s attacks have brought an end to an “informal” ceasefire that has been in place in Rakhine State since November of last year.
Tensions have been high between the military and the AA for some time. Last Tuesday, the AA detained a number of police officers who were on patrol in the Rakhine State town of Mrauk-U.
However, the real reason for the complete collapse of the ceasefire can likely be traced to events elsewhere in the country.
In late September, junta shelling targeting Laiza, the stronghold of close AA ally the Kachin Independence Army, killed one AA officer and injured several others stationed at a base nearby.
More importantly, the AA is also a member of the Brotherhood Alliance, the group of three ethnic armed groups that launched Operation 1027 in northern Shan State on October 27.
Since then, this major anti-junta offensive has seen the Myanmar military lose control of several towns and scores of outposts in Shan State and other parts of the country where the regime continues to face strong resistance to its rule.
Some residents of areas under AA control say that even before the start of Operation 1027, the group warned them to build bomb shelters in case fighting breaks out again.
On November 8, a statement released by the Brotherhood Alliance also suggested that fighting could resume in Rakhine State due to junta provocations.
“In some Rakhine townships, the military council’s bases have been conducting weapons tests and firing threatening shots almost every month,” the statement said.
