The Arakan Army (AA) finally took complete control of Rakhine State’s Pauktaw town on Wednesday, residents and a statement from the Brotherhood Alliance confirmed.
“The situation in town is a bit stable now. The junta’s troops are no longer in town. People feel relieved,” said U Bo, a resident of Pauktaw, adding that many of the town’s residents remain outside of it, seeking refuge in villages.
Pauktaw town is in Sittwe District on Myanmar’s western coast. Because it is located close to the state capital, Sittwe, the junta’s military fought fiercely to hang on to it.
AA troops began launching attacks on junta troops in Pauktaw Township on Nov. 15 last year. After the AA briefly seized the town, the junta’s military unleashed airstrikes and artillery bombardments from warships on the town.
Wednesday marked the day the AA finally took complete control of the town, the Brotherhood Alliance said. The AA is one of three members of the alliance.
Earlier this week, Rakhine media outlets reported that junta troops had left Pauktaw town and that the AA had seized it.
Clashes between the AA and the junta’s military have broken out daily since it widened the Brotherhood Alliance’s Operation 1027 to Rakhine State in November of last year. A junta-imposed blockade on the state has intensified the suffering of civilians living under a wave of bombing from land, air and sea.
Fighting in the state is most intense in northern townships, including Mrauk U, Minbya, Kyauktaw and Rathedaung.
In Minbya Township, a junta naval vessel fired shells into Thaedan village at about 6 p.m. on Wednesday, killing one resident and severely wounding three more, according to the AA.
Clashes are escalating in Ramree Township where the junta has unleashed a massive aerial bombing campaign. On Wednesday alone it conducted 33 airstrikes on the township, destroying homes and a bridge, the AA said.
The AA launched attacks in Rakhine State in harmony with the Brotherhood Alliance’s Operation 1012, which began in northern Shan State.
While fighting with its two alliance members – the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and Ta’ang National Liberation Army – in northern Shan State, the AA has also been fighting the junta’s military in upper Sagaing Region.
Since the resumption of fighting in Rakhine State, the AA has seized Paletwa town in southern Chin State and more than 160 junta bases, outposts and battalion headquarters across northern Rakhine and Chin State’s Paletwa Township.
