The Arakan Army (AA) claimed on Thursday it is poised to capture another four towns in Rakhine State, including Ann, home to the junta’s Western Region Command headquarters.
Clashes are ongoing in Myanmar’s westernmost state as AA troops push to seize complete control of Ann, Taungup, Maungdaw and Gwa towns, the ethnic army said.
It also claimed to have defeated eight junta battalion bases during fighting for Ann town, including military hospitals and an armory.
Only two of the remaining 10 junta positions in Ann hold combat forces, while the rest house auxiliary units, it added.
Rakhine media are reporting that around 300 junta troops, including majors, recently surrendered to the AA while around 3,000 residents remain trapped in Ann town by the fighting.
On Sunday, AA troops shot down a junta helicopter airlifting reinforcements and supplies to Western Command headquarters, which has been encircled, AA spokesperson Khaing Thukha told the Irrawaddy.
The ethnic army said it has also taken effective control of Maungdaw town near the Bangladesh border. Junta troops were making a last stand at Border Guard Police Battalion 5 headquarters nearby, supported by the regime-backed Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and airstrikes, it added.
Rakhine media reported that AA troops have also surrounded Gwa, Rakhine’s southernmost town bordering Ayeyarwady Region.
Reports also said that the ethnic army has seized junta battalion bases outside Taungup, with fighting now erupting in the town as regime troops take up defensive positions to repel the AA’s assault.
Media reported that the regime is using up to 600 forcibly conscripted Rohingya men to defend Ann and Taungup. The Irrawaddy was unable to independently verify the reports.
The AA launched Operation 1027 with fellow Brotherhood Alliance members the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), in October last year, seizing most of northern Shan State, including 25 towns and townships and the capital, Lashio.
The AA expanded the operation to its home state in November last year, and on Wednesday marked the first anniversary of the offensive by repeating its vow to expel the junta from Rakhine.
The ethnic army has seized 11 of Rakhine’s 17 townships along with Paletwa township in neighboring Chin State.
Blocked from sending ground troops to reclaim lost territory, the junta is using aircraft to bomb towns and villages under AA control, killing and injuring dozens of residents and destroying houses.
