Paletwa Township in Chin State lies on the Kaladan River and borders India. The first fighting between the Myanmar military and the ethnic Rakhine armed group the Arakan Army (AA) broke out in late 2018 following reports that thousands of AA troops were gathering in Shin Letwa in the north of the township.
The junta’s Western Command has military responsibility for Paletwa.
The Myanmar military built several strongholds on hills along the road between Paletwa and India’s Mizoram. The road is part of the India-backed Kaladan River Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project. The strongholds were manned by troops from light infantry divisions (LIDs) or tactical units overseen by the LIDs.
The military built hilltop bases in the east, west and south of the township, and along the Kaladan River in its north. Each hilltop base is bigger than a large village, complete with bunkers, trenches and foxholes, and equipped with various weapons including howitzers. Some hilltop bases even have two helipads. Hundreds of soldiers were deployed to each stronghold.
The AA launched attacks on Taron Eain and Nonebu hilltop bases on the Kaladan River in the north of Paletwa on Nov. 14 last year. As the two outposts were huge and the regime was able to provide regular air support, the AA had to fight very hard to seize them.
The ethnic armed group seized Taron Eain base on Dec. 4 after 21 days of fighting; Nonebu base on Dec. 10; another hilltop outpost on Dec. 27; and a fourth one on Jan. 2, before seizing two others.
On Jan. 6, all of the nearly 200 junta soldiers deployed at the hilltop base on Mt. Taung Shae surrendered to the AA. Two more major hilltop outposts fell on Jan. 13. The following day, the AA seized the headquarters of Light Infantry Battalion 289 based in Paletwa town as well as police stations and administrative offices in the town.
Large hauls of weapons, ammunition and military equipment including howitzers and armored vehicles were seized, with many junta soldiers including tactical commanders killed and a military operations command chief and many other soldiers captured. The regime lost around two divisions worth of soldiers in the clashes in Paletwa.
The AA launched its attacks there on Nov. 14, 2023 and seized the whole township on Jan. 14, 2024. The victory over Paletwa marked the turning of the tide against the Myanmar military on the Rakhine front.
Tide of battle turns
As the Battle of Kunlong did in northern Shan State, the Battle of Paletwa turned the tide on the Rakhine front. Junta troops in Rakhine State started to collapse after Paletwa fell. Hundreds of junta soldiers fled into India.
Junta soldiers from three outposts in Rathedaung Township retreated to a base in Inn Din Village west of the Mayu Mountains on Jan. 14. The same day, junta troops stationed between Rathedaung and Buthidaung townships retreated to Mt. Manhyin. Around 120 junta soldiers surrendered the following day after AA troops besieged the mountain.
Around 70 junta soldiers managed to escape the mountain via the Mayu River, and around 200 from the Htee Swe tactical command base also retreated across the river.
The AA launched attacks on Jan. 16 to seize Rathedaung Town, and the regime is reportedly losing ground there.
All told, junta troops had abandoned around 100 positions in Rakhine State within less than a month of the launch of the AA offensive.
Artillery Battalion 377 and Light Infantry Battalion 539 based near Kan Sauk Village in Kyauktaw Township surrendered to the AA in the second week of January. Around 300 junta soldiers and their family members surrendered.
The AA is now attempting to seize Kyauktaw and Minbya towns.
Junta troops wait to be crushed
Including all casualties and those who were captured, surrendered or fled, the Myanmar military lost around two divisions worth of soldiers in the Battle of Paletwa. Around 500 soldiers were captured or arrested and 429 fled into India, though they were later flown back to Myanmar. Around 450 more troops surrendered in subsequent attacks in Rathedaung and Kyauktaw townships.
The defeat in Paletwa had a huge psychological impact on junta troops in Rakhine State, creating a feeling of inevitability that other outposts would also fall. Their fears are not unfounded. In northern Rakhine, hilltop outposts manned by hundreds of junta soldiers have fallen to the AA after they were forced either to flee or surrender.
Meanwhile, the consecutive victories have bolstered the morale of AA troops. The ethnic armed group has used its major combat units to attack junta positions in Paletwa, and it can now use them to attack towns in northern Rakhine. The AA does not need many troops to defend Paletwa because the regime is obviously not in a position to launch attacks to retake it.
Maungdaw, Buthidaung, Rathedaung, Ponnagyun, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Minbya and Myebon towns are now under siege. Unlike on other fronts, the junta can use its navy in Rakhine, which is a coastal area. Air raids and artillery support from warships haven apparently failed to deter the AA from seizing towns, however.
In Kyauktaw town, junta soldiers and police from the central police station have retreated to the 9th Military Operations Command in preparation to defend it. The AA launched attacks on battalions in the town on Jan. 17.
The AA has already seized part of Mrauk-U town, and its troops have already made their way into Minbya and Pauktaw towns. With the exception of Pauktaw, the regime has not been able to send in ground reinforcements to towns.
There is no junta battalion in Myebon. There have been rumors that the AA will soon attack Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State and the seat of its administration there. The regime has been forced to prepare a defense of Sittwe; it has brought in troops from two bases in Rathedaung but is seriously short of troops to reinforce the state capital.
As for the junta’s regional operations command based in Sittwe, its days are numbered. Under such circumstances, it would not be surprising if the AA seizes towns in northern Rakhine in the next few weeks.
Now the time of reckoning has come for the junta’s troops, who have arrested and killed civilians and continuously bombarded and torched villages in Rakhine.
In May 2022, as the Myanmar military took steps to curb the growing influence of the AA in Rakhine, AA chief Major General Tun Myat Naing issued a public warning to Major General Htin Latt Oo, the head of the Myanmar military’s Western Command.
“Htin Latt Oo, don’t go too far. You have been irritating. I won’t give a shit about peace [if you carry on]. I will come to your place and crush it,” wrote the AA chief on his Twitter [now X].
The Battle of Paletwa has turned the tide against the Myanmar military in Rakhine. Now, the Western Command may be feeling the threat.
Moe Sett Nyein Chan is a military analyst.
