AA captures junta artillery battalion in Taungup Twsp

By Admin 04 Nov 2024

DMG Newsroom
4 November 2024, Taungup

The Arakkha Army (AA) has captured a junta artillery battalion on Mt. Pan Myauk, located near Taungup Town in Arakan State.

The AA resumed its offensive against junta positions in Taungup in the last week of October, and seized the artillery battalion on Sunday.

“The mountain hosts a historical pagoda. The AA has defeated the junta troops deployed on that mountain. The two sides are fighting in another place. The regime is mainly using its air force to defend against the AA’s attacks,” said a source.

Located seven miles from Taungup Town, the artillery battalion, which is part of the 5th Military Operations Command, is considered crucial for the defence of Taungup Town.

The AA has also been attacking another junta position on Mt. Zee Kaing, two miles from Taungup Town, since Sunday.

“The two sides are clashing heavily near Mt. Zee Kaing,” one resident told DMG at around 11 a.m. on Monday. “A junta warplane has just left after dropping bombs around the mountain.”

Other junta positions have also provided artillery support for the outpost on Mt. Zee Kaing, he added.

Fighting broke out between the regime and the AA near Chaung Kauk Ward in Taungup on June 15. Tensions were running high but there was no outright fighting until the AA resumed attacks on October 31.

Villagers in the countryside have fled their homes, but residents in Taungup Town are trapped as the junta has barred them from leaving.

One Taungup resident said: “We dare not sneak out [for fear of junta reprisals]. But it has been too dangerous to live in the town. Junta aircraft are flying over the town a lot lately, and there has also been shelling,”

The regime has reinforced its 5th Military Operations Command, including Light Infantry Battalion Nos. 346 and 544, in Taungup Town.

The battle for control of Arakan State is likely to intensify during the dry season as the AA is fighting on multiple fronts including in Maungdaw, Ann, Gwa and Taungup townships.