Watchful eye: Border guards patrolling the no man’s land between Myanmar and Bangladesh, near Taungpyolatyar village in northern Rakhine State, in this file photo. — AP
One of the most powerful ethnic minority armed groups battling the junta has claimed the capture of the last army outpost in the strategic western town of Maungdaw, gaining full control of the 271km-long border with Bangladesh.
The capture by the Arakan Army makes the group’s control of the northern part of Rakhine state complete and marks another advance in its bid for self-rule there.
Rakhine has become a focal point for Myanmar’s nationwide civil war, in which pro-democracy guerrillas and ethnic minority armed forces seeking autonomy battle the country’s military rulers, who took power in 2021 after the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Khaing Thukha, a spokesman for the Arakan Army, said via text message from an undisclosed location late on Monday that his group had seized the last remaining military outpost in Maungdaw last Sunday.
Outpost commander Brig Gen Thurein Tun, was captured while attempting to flee the battle, Khaing Thukha said.
The situation in Maungdaw could not be independently confirmed, with access to the Internet and mobile phone services in the area mostly cut off.
The junta did not immediately comment.
Maungdaw, about 400km southwest of Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city, has been the target of an Arakan Army offensive since June.The group captured Paletwa and Buthidaung, two other towns on the border with Bangladesh, earlier this year.
Since November last year, the Arakan Army has gained control of 11 of Rakhine’s 17 townships, along with one in the neighbouring Chin state. — AP
