Fighting escalates between military, Arakkha Army in Ann Twsp

By Admin 01 Oct 2024

DMG Newsroom
1 October 2024, Ann

Fighting between the Myanmar regime and Arakkha Army (AA) is ongoing and intense in Arakan State's Ann Township, where the military's Western Command is located, according to locals.

Fierce clashes have been reported around a military camp on Mt. Mel, about 2 miles from Ann Town, since September 26.

"Fighting between the military and AA is escalating in Ann Township. The military is responding to the AA attacks with aerial and artillery support," said a source.

In a statement, the AA said that its forces clashed with the military near Kyauksakwe Village in Ann Township at about 10 a.m. on September 27. A 100-strong junta contingent consisting of personnel from the military's Light Infantry Battalion Nos. 346, 373 and 372 was ambushed by the AA about 4 kilometres west of Kyauksakwe Village.

The AA killed five junta soldiers and seized some weapons and military equipment during the hostilities, the statement added.

The fighting displaced hundreds of locals from Kyauksakwe, Ywathayar and Mee Laung Chaung villages and civilian casualties were reported due to the junta shelling.

Three people from a family in Kyauksakwe Village were killed by a junta artillery strike while attempting to flee to a safer location. Villagers said that the bodies of the deceased have not yet been retrieved due to the ongoing clashes.

"The bodies were seen on the road. The villagers were displaced by the fighting," said a local resident.

Hostilities between the military and AA have been ongoing in Ann Township since March, with the ethnic armed group seizing the Tawhein tactical command base on June 23.

The regime set up five military outposts along Mt. Mel, between Kyeinchaung and Khamaungdaw villages, to defend its Western Command headquarters against the AA onslaught.

The Western Command holds not only strategic military value, but also symbolic and economic importance for both sides and the people of Arakan State, according to observers.

"Losing places like the Western Command could demoralise the regime," said U Pe Than, a military and political analyst, and former lawmaker for Arakan State. "If the AA captures the Western Command, the flow of goods from the Ann Road can be opened to a certain extent, and can join [AA] forces with the resistance forces on mainland Myanmar. That's why the Western Command is important for the military and AA; for military, political and economic reasons."

The Western Command, Light Infantry Battalion Nos. 371, 372, 372, a general engineering corps, a battlefield engineering corps, a medical corps and weapon units are all based in Ann Township.

Following the launch of an offensive in November of last year, the AA has seized 10 townships in Arakan State and Paletwa Township in neighbouring Chin State. As the dry season approaches, military observers are predicting that the fighting in Arakan State may become more intense.