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| Arakan Army | Photo: Reuters |
The Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic armed rebel group in Myanmar's Rakhine state, has claimed control of the regional military headquarters, marking the second time the ruling Myanmar's government has lost control of a regional military command in fierce fighting with the rebel groups.
In a statement on Telegram late Friday night, the Arakan Army said, "After two weeks of intense fighting, the Myanmar government's Western Military Command in Aung San, Rakhine State, fell on Friday. Its full control is now in our hands." However, Myanmar's government authorities were not immediately available for comment.
Analysts say the loss of control of this important military command is a major blow to the Myanmar government, as it was the last stronghold under the control of government forces in Rakhine.
Myanmar's military has 14 regional commands. These commands control military operations in a specific region. Earlier, in August, rebels took control of the North-Eastern Military Command, located in Lashio, the capital of Shan State, bordering China. This was the first regional military command to be captured by the rebels.
Video footage showed smoke billowing from the buildings of the Myanmar government's regional army headquarters in Aung San. A large part of the buildings were severely damaged in the attack. Earlier on Tuesday, the Arakan Army released a video showing rebel fighters holding dozens of Myanmar's government soldiers and their families hostage.
"The deputy commander of the Myanmar's government forces in Rakhine, Brigadier General Thaung Tun, and the chief of staff, Brigadier Kyaw Kyaw Than, have been arrested. Some Myanmar's government soldiers have escaped. We are conducting operations to capture them," Arakan Army spokesman Khaing Thukha told the country's Irrawaddy newspaper. However, he said airstrikes by the government forces were still ongoing.
Earlier on December 6, the Arakan Army claimed in a statement that it had taken control of more than 30 Myanmar's government bases in the city of Aung San, including the headquarters of various battalions. At the time, the ethnic Rakhine rebel group said that only the Western Military Command remained to be taken.
In November last year, the Arakan Army launched a large-scale offensive targeting Myanmar's government bases and positions in Rakhine. Since then, the rebels have taken control of 12 of the state's 17 towns. Fighting is ongoing between the two sides in other towns. The Arakan Army has also taken control of the border town of Paletwa in neighboring Shan State.
The Arakan Army took control of the city of Maungdaw, which borders Bangladesh, on December 8. With this, the 270-kilometer border between Myanmar and Bangladesh has been completely taken over by the Arakan Army. Now, only the state capital, Sittwe, is under the full control of the Myanmar's government.
The Myanmar's government controls only 21 percent of the territory
On February 1, 2021, the Myanmar military overthrew the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi and seized power. The country has been in turmoil ever since. Protests broke out across the country in protest of the military coup. When thousands of people were killed in the mass protests, they turned into armed conflict. Rebel groups from various states then joined the armed conflict.
On October 27 last year, three ethnic armed rebel groups joined forces to launch a large-scale offensive against the Myanmar's government, known as Operation 1027. In addition to the Arakan Army, the coalition includes the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), an armed rebel group in the Kokang region, and the Taung National Liberation Army (TNLA) in Shan State.
A year later, in mid-November, the BBC conducted a survey of more than 14,000 villages in Myanmar. The survey examined who was in control of these villages. It was found that, almost four years after the start of the conflict, only 21 percent of Myanmar's territory is under full military control. And 42 percent of the territory is controlled by various ethnic armed groups. In the remaining areas, the Myanmar's government forces are fighting rebels.
Ye Myo Hein of the Washington-based think tank United States Institute of Peace said, "The Myanmar government is no longer as powerful as it once was. The Myanmar's government forces are now in a corner, having lost control of one region after another in the face of continuous attacks by the rebels. Many soldiers have fled. Many have been killed. The Myanmar's government forces now number about 130,000. However, although they have lost control of the border areas and small towns, the capital Naypyidaw and other major cities are still under the control of the Myanmar's government."