The Arakan Army now controls the town of Aan in Rakhine. The Arakan Army (AA), Myanmar’s ethnic armed rebel group, has claimed possession of the regional military headquarters in Rakhine State. The ruling junta has lost its second regional military command as a result of severe combat with rebel factions.
The Arakan Army now controls the town: In a Telegram statement made late Friday night, the Arakan Army said, “After two weeks of intensive warfare, the junta’s Western Military Command in the town of Aan, Rakhine, collapsed on Friday. We now have full control.” However, attempts to reach junta authorities for comment have failed.
According to analysts, losing control of this crucial military command is a major setback for the junta government because it was the junta’s last stronghold in Rakhine.
Myanmar’s military has 14 regional commands, with each in charge of managing military activities in a specific area. Earlier, in August, insurgents took control of the Northeastern Military Command in Lashio, Shan State’s capital near the Chinese border. This was the first regional military command to fall to rebel forces.
Plumes of smoke can be seen billowing from the junta’s regional military command buildings in Ann Township. During the attacks, a considerable number of buildings were severely damaged. Earlier on Tuesday, the Arakan Army published a video depicting rebel militant holding dozens of junta troops and their family’s prisoner.
According to Arakan Army spokesperson Khaing Thukha, the junta’s deputy commander for Rakhine, Brigadier General Thaung Tun, and Chief of Staff, Brigadier Kyaw Kyaw Than, have been imprisoned. Some junta troops have fled, and attempts are underway to apprehend them. However, he stated that junta forces are still conducting airstrikes.
Earlier, on December 6, the Arakan Army issued a statement claiming control of more than 30 junta posts in Ann Township, including numerous unit headquarters. At the time, the Rakhine ethnic rebel organization said that the only remaining goal was to capture control of the Western Regional Military Command.
In November of last year, the Arakan Army started massive strikes on junta bases and positions in Rakhine. Since then, the rebels have gained control of 12 of the state’s 17 townships. Fighting continues in the remaining towns. Additionally, the Arakan Army has taken control of the border town of Paletwa in neighboring Shan State.
Most recently, on December 8, the Arakan Army seized control of the border town of Maungdaw, close the Bangladesh border. With this, the Arakan Army now controls the whole 270-kilometer Myanmar-Bangladesh border. Currently, only the state capital, Sittwe, is completely under junta authority.
Only 21% of area is still under junta control.
On February 1, 2021, Myanmar’s military staged a coup, deposing the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Since then, the country has been in chaos. National protests occurred in response to the military takeover. When thousands of people were slain during major protests, the situation deteriorated into an armed conflict. Several rebel groups from various states later joined the armed struggle.
On October 27, last year, three ethnic armed rebel factions launched a massive onslaught against junta forces, nicknamed as “Operation 1027.” This coalition consists of the Arakan Army, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) from Kokang, and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) from Shan State.
A year later, in mid-November, the BBC surveyed more than 14,000 villages in Myanmar to discover who governs them. The survey found that over four years after the conflict began, the military controls only 21% of Myanmar’s land. Meanwhile, ethnic armed groups control 42% of the territory. In the remaining territories, confrontations between junta forces and rebels continue.
According to Yae Myo Hein of the Washington-based think tank United States Institute of Peace, Myanmar’s junta is no longer as powerful as it was previously. Faced with unrelenting rebel strikes and losing control of one territory after another, the junta troops are now severely besieged. Many soldiers fled, and others were slain. The junta’s military strength has already reached roughly 130,000 men. Despite losing control of border regions and small towns, the junta retains control of the capital, Naypyidaw, as well as other large cities.
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