AA ramps up assault on military camps in Ann Twsp

By Admin 08 Apr 2024

DMG Newsroom
8 April 2024, Ann

Fighting between the military and Arakan Army (AA) is escalating in Ann Township, where the military’s Western Command headquarters is located, as the AA is stepping up offensive attacks on military camps in the area.

Fierce clashes were reported near the Tawhein tactical command base near Kazukaing Village, Dar Let and the Western Command headquarters in Ann Township on April 7, locals said.

“The junta not only dropped multiple bombs but also fired mortar shells during the fighting with the AA yesterday. The fighting between the military and AA near Western Command headquarters is thought to be the most intense battle,” said a resident of Ann.

The AA has been launching attacks on military camps and junta outposts including the Tawhein tactical command base near Kazukaing Village, the ethnic armed group said in a statement on April 3.

Fierce fighting followed the AA’s launching of assaults on multiple junta bases and military camps in Ann Township on March 24. Thousands of local people from at least two dozen villages in Ann Township have been fleeing to safer locations due to rising tensions between the military and Arakan Army in the area.

“The military sent reinforcements to the scenes of fighting along the Ann-Padan road. As the AA closed the Ann-Padan road, the military deployed junta soldiers from Western Command headquarters to the conflict areas,” said another Ann resident.

The AA on April 2 declared an indefinite emergency closure of the vital transport road linking Ann Township to Padan Village in Ngape Township, Magway Region, in central Myanmar until further notice.

Fighting has been raging in Arakan State for nearly five months. The AA has seized large swaths of Rathedaung, Ponnagyun, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Minbya, Pauktaw, Myebon and Ramree townships, as well as Paletwa Township in neighbouring Chin State.

The AA has been stepping up offensive attacks on military camps, junta bases and police outposts in Buthidaung, Maungdaw, and Ann townships.