Over 100 junta soldiers including a tactical commander have surrendered to the ethnic Rakhine armed group the Arakan Army (AA), which is fighting the regime in Rakhine State in western Myanmar.
They abandoned their hill-top tactical command base in Rathedaung Township on Sunday after being attacked by the AA and surrendered on Monday morning, according to a local resident close to the AA.
“The tactical commander and over 100 junta soldiers fled as the AA was preparing to launch an attack after besieging the base. They surrendered the following day as they could not escape the AA troops pursuing them,” the source told The Irrawaddy.
The junta soldiers who surrendered reportedly belong to the 22nd Light Infantry Division. Myanmar military troops have been stationed at the hill-top base, known as Yay Soe Chaung, since clashes erupted between the military and the AA in 2019.
The AA said on Sunday it would pursue junta soldiers who flee their outposts after being attacked.
Some 100 junta soldiers stationed on smaller hills near Yay Soe Chaung tactical command base have also abandoned their outposts.
“Junta soldiers from nearby hills have fled. The regime sent two watercraft this afternoon to rescue those soldiers. AA troops are attacking those watercraft near Pyein Taw Village in the Mayu River,” another Rathedaung resident told The Irrawaddy on Monday.
Junta troops and the AA clashed near Khamaung Seik Village in northern Maungdaw on Sunday. Over 20 junta soldiers were killed and weapons were seized from them, the AA said.
The AA has seized control of almost all of Paletwa Township bordering Rakhine State, after occupying all the junta positions there including the base of Light Infantry Battalion 289 and major tactical command bases.
On Sunday, it also defeated the junta’s Artillery Battalion 377 in Kyauktaw Township and a hill-top outpost outside Mrauk-U Town.
Junta troops and the AA have been clashing fiercely in Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Minbya and Pauktaw townships. Junta troops on Monday torched houses in Taw Kan Village in Sittwe Township, the capital of Rakhine State.
