The Arakan Army (AA) has intensified its attacks on junta military columns and bases around Ann Township, where the junta’s Western Command and other military bases are located, while thousands of people are trapped in the town as the military has blocked them from leaving.
The AA has encircled the junta military’s Western Command near Ann town since last week. On Sunday, the AA intensified its attacks on junta military bases in Ann.
“The fighting remains intense on the ground. It seems like either the junta troops will surrender soon or the AA will seize these areas by defeating them,” said Captain Zin Yaw, a former junta military officer who joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM).
Ann is a strategically important town in Rakhine State for the junta’s military. It houses not only a military command but also 12 military bases, including the headquarters of Light Infantry Battalions 371, 372 and 373, as well as Artillery Battalion 374.
Around 3,000 people, including original residents and those who fled nearby villages, remain trapped in Ann. Since Sunday, the junta’s military has restricted residents’ movement within the town.
“We can’t go outside of the ward, and those who fled from the nearby villages are also now unable to go back home as the military no longer allows it. People here in the town are especially concerned that more intense clashes could break out or that airstrikes could be launched on the town,” said Ko Nyo, a 25-year-old resident.
People in Ann have faced food and essential supply shortages for a week. The junta’s restrictions on movements have made it even more difficult for residents to buy, sell, or exchange food and other necessities.
Zin Yaw, who once served in a military battalion in Rakhine State, said the junta’s military personnel had already sent their families to Ayeyarwady and some other neighboring regions of Myanmar in the last week.
“At this moment, the AA has already closely approached the base of Light Infantry Battalion 373 on the Sittwe-Ann Road, and AA forces have also encircled the No. (1) 300-Bed Military Hospital in the township. The situation is likely to allow the AA to seize the Western Command and the entire township in the coming days,” he remarked.
If the AA, a member of the Brotherhood Alliance, can seize Ann Township and take control of the Western Command, it would become the second regional command of the junta’s military seized by the Brotherhood Alliance.
In early August, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), another member of the ethnic alliance, seized the junta’s Northeastern Command in Lashio, Shan State.
The AA has liberated most of Rakhine State, seizing some 14 out of the state’s 17 townships. It has also seized the whole of Paletwa Township in neighboring Chin State.
Analysts said that if the AA can take control of Ann, only a few towns would be left to seize, and almost the entire state could be described as liberated by the AA soon.
Clashes between the AA and the junta’s military forces have also intensified around Border Guard Police Battalion 5 headquarters in Maungdaw, where hundreds to thousands of junta troops from different parts of northern Rakhine State have been trapped for months.
