AA seizes key Myanmar military base near Ann-based Western Command

By Admin 08 Oct 2024

DMG Newsroom
8 October 2024, Ann

The Arakkha Army (AA) has seized the Myanmar regime's Mt. Mel tactical command base and nearby military camps, about 2 miles from Ann Town where the military's Western Command is located, the ethnic armed group said in a statement on Tuesday.

The AA took control of the Mt. Mel base and nearby camps on October 7, according to the AA statement.

The AA seized some weapons and military equipment during the battle for control of the Mt. Mel tactical command base, the statement added.

The military's Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) Nos. 362, 365 and 369, under the No. 10 Military Operations Command (MOC-10) in Homalin, Sagaing Region, and LIB Nos. 346, 373 and 372 under the No. 5 Military Operations Command (MOC-5) in Taungup, had been stationed at the Mt. Mel tactical command base, the AA statement reads.

"It will be easy for the AA to attack Ann after seizing two tactical command bases. It can also be said that the Mt. Mel tactical command base is a key place to protect the Western Command. That's why the regime defended against the AA attacks with massive force," said a military analyst in Arakan State.

Prior to the seizure, Myanmar's military regime in July set up five outposts along Mt. Mel, between Kyeinchaung and Khamaungdaw villages, to defend its Western Command headquarters against the AA's advancing troops.

The junta has sent reinforcements from Taungup to Ann to defend the Western Command and dug trenches at an entrance to the town over recent days.

"Junta soldiers retreating from the Mt. Mel tactical command base have been deployed at military regiments in Ann. Families of the military personnel were transferred to mainland Myanmar by military trucks today," a resident of Ann said on Tuesday.

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.

The AA has announced that it will ramp up attacks on the regime in an effort to seize junta bases and military camps in Arakan State that remain held by the Myanmar military, which has lost significant territory to the advancing AA forces over recent months.