A Burmese armed group claimed, Monday, May 6, to have taken a military command post and captured hundreds of members of the junta in the state of Rakhine, in the west of the country, in what appears to be a new setback for the army.
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Clashes have rocked the state since the Arakan Army (AA) attacked security forces in November, ending a ceasefire that had been largely respected since the junta’s 2021 coup .
The army still holds the state capital, Sittwe, but AA fighters have seized territory in surrounding districts, including bases on the border with India and Bangladesh. In a video released by the AA, the latter said it had seized a military command center near the town of Buthidaung, about 90 kilometers north of Sittwe.
The video does not specify when the fighters seized the site, but local media have reported regular clashes near Buthidaung in recent days. “ After a certain period of siege ” and one ” final assault “, the junta troops suffered ” total defeat and surrendered », Indicates a message published in Burmese, Chinese and English.
AFP tried unsuccessfully to contact the junta for comment. The video shows a long line of men, some wearing what appear to be military uniforms, walking through a field. Some are dressed in shorts, T-shirts and sandals, others have nothing on their feet. Other images show women and children, or men being carried on makeshift stretchers.
The fighting intensified
The video also shows around 200 people sitting in rows in a clearing, watched by uniformed armed men. The fighting has intensified in recent months in Burma after a series of attacks by ethnic minority groups and anti-junta fighters in several peripheral regions, including Rakhine State where the AA says it is fighting for the rights of the ethnic group of the same name.
These groups, some of which have been fighting since independence in 1948 for more autonomy and control of lucrative resources, have recently inflicted several major setbacks on the military, placing it in a position of weakness not seen since the putsch, according to analysts. .
Since early November, fighting has spread to 15 of Rakhine state’s 17 townships, hundreds of people have been killed or injured and more than 300,000 displaced, the country’s rights official said last month. man of the UN.
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