15-1-2024 (YANGON) An ethnic armed group in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state has announced that it has gained control of a town situated along the border with India and Bangladesh. This marks another setback for the military government as it grapples with insurgencies in various parts of the country.
Myanmar is currently facing multiple fronts of insurgency, with anti-junta groups supported by a pro-democracy parallel government seizing military posts and towns. This uprising poses the most significant challenge to the junta since it carried out a coup against the democratically elected government in 2021.
Late on Sunday, a spokesperson for the Arakan Army (AA) declared the capture of Paletwa, a strategic port town located on the Kaladan River, which serves as a vital trade route with neighboring countries. In a statement, AA spokesperson Khine Thu Kha stated that the group would assume administrative and law enforcement responsibilities in the area and pledged to cooperate with neighboring countries to maintain border stability.
The military junta’s spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment, and Reuters was unable to independently verify the AA’s claim.
The fall of Paletwa in the western region follows the recent capture of Laukkai town in northern Shan State on the border with China by another rebel group known as the Three Brotherhood Alliance.
Last week, the junta reached a ceasefire agreement with the TNLA, a member of the alliance, for the border region shared with China. The talks took place in the Chinese city of Kunming and were facilitated by Chinese officials.
However, on Sunday, the rebel alliance accused the junta forces of breaching the ceasefire agreement and launching attacks in several townships in Shan State.
