The Arakan Army (AA) has cut off a junta naval base in Rakhine State’s Thandwe Township that serves as a transit point for reinforcements being sent from Ayeyarwady Region to a position where junta troops are making their last stand in the township, according to a source.
Thandwe Township is the home of pristine Ngapali Beach, a famed tourist destination.
The AA has captured Thandwe town, Thandwe Prison and Thandwe Airport near the northern tip of Ngapali Beach, and the bases of Light Infantry Battalion 566 and Infantry Battalion 55, but junta troops have gathered in Jeiktaw Ward on the southern tip of the beach resort.
The regime had been sending reinforcements from Ayeyarwady Region via Kwin Wyne naval base in Thabyugyaing, which is situated on the opposite shore of a bay from Jeiktaw Ward.
The AA launched attacks on Kwin Wyne naval base on Monday, using rockets and drones, said a Thandwe resident.
“I heard junta soldiers including officers were killed when the AA attacked the naval base with rockets,” he said.
The Irrawaddy could not independently verify the junta casualties.
One military analyst said: “The regime is mounting a defense in Jeiktaw as it tries not to lose control of Ngapali. The regime has reinforced Jeiktaw with troops from Ayeyarwady Region. Now that the AA has attacked the naval base, the junta troops are trapped in Jeiktaw.”
A few days ago, regime forces blew up a bridge on the road to the naval base to impede the AA’s advances on the base. As a result, the regime can no longer send reinforcements to the naval base.
“The naval base is helpless as junta troops in Gwa can’t reach it,” he said.
The regime has reportedly retaliated with bombing raids on Kywe Thauk, Maung Shwe Lay and Kwin Wyne villages near the naval base, forcing residents to flee.
Fighting has been raging in Rakhine State for more than eight months, since Nov. 13. The AA, which has seized control of most of the state’s 17 townships, is currently ramping up an offensive to capture the townships of southern Rakhine that remain under junta control.
