Arakan News Desk: The Arakan Army on Tuesday morning launched a large-scale attack on Maungdaw town in northwestern Rakhine State near the border with Bangladesh.
It began by attacking two border guard police headquarters on the outskirts of the town.
The attack follows the ethnic army’s capture of Buthidaung town late last week. Both towns are located in northeastern Rakhine near its border with Bangladesh. The people who live in this area are predominantly Rohingya.
Arakan Army (AA) troops advanced on Maungdaw from numerous directions and have surrounded the town, a military analyst said.
The analyst said AA troops will be able to enter Maungdaw after two border guard police battalions are defeated: Battalion No. 4 in 4th Mile village and Battalion No. 5 in Myothugyi ward.
The headquarters of Battalion No. 5 is near the gateway to Maungdaw town and is adjacent to No. 2 battalion on the Buthidaung-Maungdaw Road east of the town. The headquarters of Battalion No. 4 is a large base about 16 kilometers south of Maungdaw town.
Brigadier-General Thurein Tun, commander of 15th Military Operations Command, is in charge of Battalion No. 4, sources say.
Pre-dawn airstrikes by junta jets on Tuesday killed at least one civilian and wounded several others in three villages near the headquarters of Battalion No. 4.
“Three junta jets bombed three villages at about 3 am on Tuesday … A 23-year-old displaced woman taking shelter in Shwe Baho village was killed instantly. A few others were injured because they had no time to flee to a bomb shelter,” a resident of Maungdaw said.
At least five civilians were seriously injured and homes were bombed in Bawdhikone village.
AA troops are also pursuing junta soldiers fleeing Buthidaung. The Arakan Army seized control of Buthidaung on May 18.
If the Arakan Army can seize Maungdaw, only one town in northern Rakhine will remain under the regime’s control: Sittwe, the state’s capital.
Many residents of Sittwe have evacuated their homes. The regime’s military has blockaded the city, making it difficult for residents to flee. It is also forcing teachers to open public schools for the academic year beginning in June.
Capturing Maungdaw will also give the Arakan Army control over the 270-km border with Bangladesh.
In its statement on Tuesday, the AA urged civilians and international aid agencies in Buthidaung, Maungdaw and Thandwe townships to evacuate to safe places to prevent being trapped by fighting.
The AA is also attacking junta positions between Thandwe and Taungup in southern Rakhine, and a tactical command base guarding the Myanmar military’s Western Command in Ann Township.
Civilian casualties have been reported in clashes between Taungup and Thandwe townships as the regime targets the residential areas with indiscriminate artillery and naval bombardment.
A military analyst said: “The AA has not yet attacked Sittwe and Kyaukphyu, probably because it is concerned about the extent of civilian casualties and destruction if the regime responds with heavy naval attacks. If the AA decides to attack, it may attack Sittwe first.”
The Arakan Army has taken control of more than half the Rakhine State – nine of its 17 townships – since launching an offensive against junta positions in the state in November of last year. The army has also taken control of neighboring Paletwa Township in Chin State.
