AA intensifies assault on junta battalion at entrance to Ann

By Admin 12 Oct 2024

DMG Newsroom
12 October 2024, Ann

The Arakkha Army (AA) has intensified its assault on Light Infantry Battalion No. 373 at the entrance to Ann Town in Arakan State using artillery and drones. The regime has called in air and artillery support to defend against the AA's attacks, sources told DMG.

The AA launched an offensive targeting Light Infantry Battalion No. 373 on Tuesday after seizing the Mae Taung aka Mt. Mel tactical command base guarding the Myanmar military's Western Command headquarters, which is based in Ann Town, on October 7.

"The fighting is still fierce," said one Ann resident on Saturday morning. "I heard the AA is gaining the upper hand. The regime has called in air and artillery support."

Light Infantry Battalion No. 373 is located at the entrance to Ann Town on the Minbya-Ann road section of the Sittwe-Yangon road. The battalion is located only 1 mile from the Western Command headquarters.

The AA has also been attacking the Western Command with artillery and drones. Deputy Western Commander chief Brigadier-General Aung Kyaw Min is reportedly commanding the junta troops defending against the AA's assault on the remaining junta-held positions in Ann Township.

The Myanmar's regime's administrative apparatus, meanwhile, has collapsed in Ann Town. Officers from junta departments in Ann have reportedly fled from Arakan State.

Another resident said: "The junta's department staff employees have fled along with their families after battalions based in Ann Town came under attack. Junta departments are no longer operating. Town residents are also fleeing the town as the fighting is getting closer."

The Western Command, Light Infantry Battalion Nos. 371, 372, 373, a general engineering unit, a battlefield engineering unit, a medical corps and other combat support units are all based in Ann Town. Light Infantry Battalion Nos. 362, 365 and 365, under the Sagaing Region-based 10th Military Operations Command, have also been brought in to reinforce the junta's increasingly tenuous hold over its Western Command.

Since launching attacks on Ann Township in March, the AA has seized multiple junta positions including two tactical command bases - Taw Hein Taung in June and Mae Taung on October 7 - that are considered crucial to defending the Western Command.