An ethnic army captured two outposts in a strategic township in western Myanmar, residents told Radio Free Asia.
On Wednesday evening, Arakan Army forces seized junta outpost camps in Ge Laung and Lone Kauk villages of Rakhine state’s Ann township, where the junta’s Western Regional Military Headquarters is located.
This will be the ninth township in which the Arakan Army has captured territory since ending a year-long ceasefire with the junta in November. The rebel army has also captured a neighboring township in Chin state to the north. The group said it intends to capture the entirety of Rakhine state.
A resident following the fighting told RFA the Arakan Army captured the outposts during a two-day offensive.
“Junta Battalion 372 is near Ge Laung and Lone Kauk villages. There is a small outpost about a mile [1.6 km] before Battalion 372,” he said on Wednesday, declining to be named for security reasons. “The Arakan Army has been attacking that outpost for two days. It was seized by the Arakan Army this evening.”
The number of casualties is still unknown. Neither group has released any information regarding the conflict.
RFA reached out to Rakhine state’s junta spokesperson Hla Thein for comment on the skirmish, but he did not answer the phone.
A military helicopter shot at both villages around 8 p.m. on Wednesday evening, residents said, adding that most civilians fled on Monday when fighting broke out.
Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn.