The Arakan Army (AA) has taken complete control of Myanmar’s 270-kilometer-long border with Bangladesh after seizing Maungdaw Township on Sunday.
The ethnic army reported it captured the junta’s last remaining border stronghold, Border Guard Police Battalion No. 5, located outside Maungdaw town, on Sunday morning after several months of fighting.
On Sunday, the AA said it was attacking regime and allied Rohingya militia from the Arakan Rohingya Army (ARA), Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) as they fled the base.
Rakhine media reported on Monday that the AA arrested Brigadier General Thurein Tun, commander of Military Operation Command 15, along with regime troops including about 80 Rohingya insurgents, following the battle for Maungdaw.
The ethnic army launched the Maungdaw offensive in late May, taking six months to gain complete control of the township.
The AA now claims control of all three Myanmar townships bordering Bangladesh – Maungdaw and Buthidaung in Rakhine State and Chin State’s Paletwa, which also borders India.
A military analyst monitoring the fighting in Rakhine said restoring trade with Bangladesh would help ease the plight of people living in the western state.
Two million people in Rakhine face looming famine, the UN reported last month.
The junta has blockaded roads and waterways leading to the state, blocking deliveries of food, fuel and medicine, including international humanitarian aid.
The analyst added that the Bangladesh government must engage in meaningful dialogue with the ethnic army if it wanted to solve the complex Rohingya issue in Rakhine State.
The AA is now fighting for control of Gwa, Taungup and Ann townships in southern Rakhine.
AA troops have seized most of Ann town along with over 30 junta strongholds and bases, with only the regime’s Western Military Command Headquarters left to be defeated.
The ethnic army stated it has also taken effective control of Taungup town, with only one regime stronghold left standing outside the town.
The AA is a member of the ethnic Brotherhood Alliance, which has seized most of northern Shan State including the capital Lashio since launching Operation 1027 in October last year.
The AA expanded the operation to its home state in November last year and has captured around 13 of Rakhine State’s 17 townships and Paletwa Township in neighboring Chin State.
