- The Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group based in Burma's Rakhine state, has taken control of Paletwa, a town on the border between India and Bangladesh.
- The Arakan Army has declared the Paletwa region a “military council-free region,” signaling an end to the ruling military junta's administrative control.
- The group, part of the Armed National Alliance, launched surprise attacks against military targets in Paletwa and other townships in mid-November.
A powerful ethnic armed group based in the country's western Rakhine state and fighting the Burmese army has seized a village bordering India and Bangladesh, the group declared on Monday, confirming accounts from local residents and media. .
Paletwa was the first township reported to have fallen to the Arakan Army, which launched surprise attacks on military targets in Paletwa in Chin State and townships in Rakhine State starting in mid-November. Paletwa is located just north of Rakhine State, on the border of Bangladesh and India.
Arakan Army spokesman Khaing Tuka told The Associated Press on Monday that the entire Paletwa region has become a “military council-free region,” referring to the ruling military junta.
Ethnic rebels deal further blow to military junta with attacks in western Burma
“The control of the administrative structure and military council is over. Administration, security and rule of law in the Paletwa region will be implemented as necessary,” Khaing Tuka said in a text message.
Ta'an National Liberation Army soldiers gather in Shan State, northern Burma, on January 11, 2022. The Arakan Army, along with the Ta'an National Liberation Army, is part of an armed ethnic alliance that recently acquired strategic territory in the northeast of the country. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)
The junta had no immediate comment.
The Arakan Army is part of an armed ethnic alliance that recently acquired strategic territory in the northeast of the country. Together with the Burmese National Democratic Alliance Army and the Ta'an National Liberation Army, which are conducting joint operations under the name of the Three Brothers Alliance, they launched a coordinated offensive in northern Shan State along the border with China on October 27.
Burmese military and ethnic rebel groups agree to immediate ceasefire
The offensive represents the biggest battlefield challenge for Burma's military rulers since the military seized power from Aung San Suu Kyi's government in February 2021. The alliance says it has captured more than 250 military outposts, five official border crossings and major cities. It is close to the Chinese border and also has several important towns.
The Arakan Army is the well-trained and well-armed military wing of Burma's ethnic Rakhine movement, which seeks autonomy from the central government. Rakhine state is where a brutal military counter-insurgency operation in 2017 forced around 740,000 Rohingya Muslim minorities to cross the Bangladesh border in search of safety. Rakhine State is also known by its old name Arakan.
The Arakan Army first announced late Sunday night that it had completely taken control of Paletwa township. The group also released photos of guerrillas taking photos in front of the town's general administration office, police chief's office, fire station and city hall.
Burma's independent state media and Rakhine state media on Monday reported on the occupation of Paletwa, citing the Arakan Army.
Residents interviewed by phone said the Arakan Army had taken control of Paletwa town after heavy fighting between the group and the military broke out last week. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared being arrested by either side in the conflict.
Amnesty International presses forward with investigation into Burma war crimes
He said he and most of the town's residents left Paletwa to seek refuge in nearby villages earlier this month, leaving only a few people behind. He said access to the internet and mobile phone services in the region had been almost completely cut off as fighting intensified.
Another resident who previously left town said he had not been able to contact his family, who appeared to be still in Paletwa, by cell phone since early January.
Paletwa is strategically important due to its border location, where the Arakan Army first established a foothold to fight the military in 2015. However, most of Paletwa's residents are members of the Chin minority, and tensions have arisen over the group's activities there.
However, since the military took power in 2021, the Chin have become the main force of resistance against the military and are now a common enemy with the Arakan Army.
