AA vows to step up attacks in Arakan State

By Admin 28 Sep 2024

DMG Newsroom
28 September 2024, Sittwe

The Arakkha Army (AA) said in a statement on September 27 that it will continue to step up its offensive to capture military camps, junta bases and Border Guard Force (BGF) outposts in Arakan State.

The AA has seized 11 towns in Arakan State and neighbouring Chin State since the latest fighting between the two sides began in November of last year, and says it will continue to attempt to seize Sittwe, Kyaukphyu, Ann, Taungup, Gwa, Manaung and Maungdaw, which remain held by the regime.

Clashes between the military and AA are reported in Ann, Gwa and Maungdaw, and the remaining townships are effectively besieged by the ethnic armed group.

The AA will accelerate its offensive against the military in order to seize the BGF Battalion No. 5, the last remaining junta camp in Maungdaw, the ethnic armed group added.

"The fighting was fierce even in the rainy season, so when the open [dry] season comes, it is believed that the fighting in Arakan State will be doubly intense. The AA leaders have said that in 2025, they will bring success to the people of Arakan. So the locals must be vigilant," said an analyst who monitors Arakan State's political and military dynamics.

The regime recently invited ethnic armed groups and revolutionary forces to abandon the armed path and instead endeavour to solve political problems through political means.

Critics have described the military regime's proffer as an unserious attempt to gain political advantage ahead of the election it hopes to hold next year.

As the military regime escalates its air campaigns against areas controlled by anti-regime forces, civilian deaths and injuries are increasing day by day.

At least 14 civilians including children were killed and 30 others were injured in a junta airstrike on the town hall and the office for the township Department of Environmental Conservation in Thandwe on September 26.