Naypyitaw – A rebel army in Myanmar has captured a major military headquarters in the west of the country. This marks the fall of the junta’s second regional command as the country faces mounting setbacks against a nationwide armed resistance movement.
The Arakan Army said the Western military command in Rakhine state, which borders Bangladesh, fell on December 20 after two weeks of heavy fighting.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since early 2021, when the military an elected civilian government ousted, This led to widespread protests that culminated in an armed uprising against the junta.
The Arakan Army is part of the Three Brotherhood Alliance – a collection of anti-junta groups – which launched an offensive in October 2023 and won several key victories along Myanmar’s border with China.
In August, the alliance control taken away from the northeastern city of Lashio, marking the first seizure of a regional military command in Myanmar’s history.
Rakhine, a coastal province along the Bay of Bengal, is one of Myanmar’s poorest regions, despite offshore natural gas reserves and a planned economic zone in the country. Kyaukpyufrom where pipelines transport oil and gas to China.
Fighting in Rakhine, home to Myanmar’s mainly Muslim Rohingya community, resumed in November 2023 after a ceasefire between the Arakan Army and the junta was broken, leading to a series of victories for the rebels.
Some Rohingya activists claim the Arakan Army targeted their community during its offensive in northern Rakhine, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee to neighboring Bangladesh for safety.
The Arakan Army has denied the allegations. REUTERS
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