AA attacks Military Operations Command in Kyauktaw

By Admin 17 Jan 2024

DMG Newsroom
17 January 2024, Kyauktaw

The Arakan Army (AA) reportedly launched an assault on the No. 9 Military Operations Command based in Kyauktaw, Arakan State, at about 6 a.m. on January 17.

The fighting escalated as the military responded to the AA’s attack with heavy weapons and small arms, said a local resident.

“The AA attacked the No. 9 Military Operations Command, with the military constantly opening heavy weapons and small arms fires,” the local resident added.

About 2,000 junta soldiers are currently stationed at the No. 9 Military Operations Command, which is located between the Mahamuni Buddha Image and Kyauktaw.

The Arakan Army seized the military’s Kyauktaw-based Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 539 on the Sittwe-Yangon Road at about 10 a.m. on January 16 and about 300 regime soldiers surrendered to the ethnic armed group.

“Junta soldiers from Kyauktaw Police Station have moved to the No. 9 Military Operations Command since yesterday following the AA’s seizure of the military’s LIB 539. Only a few people remain in Kyauktaw. Almost all residents have fled to safer locations,” said a local woman in Kyauktaw.

The AA has seized some military outposts and weapons during military operations in Arakan State in recent days, the Three Brotherhood Alliance said in a statement on January 16.

However, the AA did not say which military bases were captured. The AA captured the military’s Artillery Regiment 377 in Kansauk Village, Kyauktaw Township, at around 3:30 a.m. on January 14.

The AA has been conducting daily attacks in Arakan State and neighbouring Paletwa Township. It has seized around 160 junta positions since fresh fighting broke out on November 13.