The junta has deployed large forces and intensified its offensives in Magway, Bago, and Ayeyarwady regions along the Arakan (Rakhine) State border, resulting in clashes with it, the Arakan Army (AA) said.
Light Infantry Battalions (LIBs) 574, 569, 575, 577, and 520, along with Infantry Battalion (IB) 295 under Military Operations Commands (MOCs) 14 and 17, supported by military columns reinforced with newly trained conscripts, are carrying out offensives against border towns in Magway and Ayeyarwady regions adjoining Arakan State, the AA announced on September 10.
“After the Light Infantry Division (LID) 99’s battalions failed to make headway around Arakan State, it rotated in units that had recently achieved victories in northern Shan State, deploying battalions that were at peak morale,” a military analyst in Arakan State said.
However, the AA statement claimed that the junta battalions, despite their previous victories in northern Shan State, suffered heavy casualties and retreated in disarray when facing the AA.
The AA announced that around 70 junta troops were killed and a significant cache of weapons and ammunition was seized during clashes near Suntet village in Ngape Township, Magway Region, on September 4 and 7.
The junta tried to retake AA-held areas in Magway Region by deploying battalions under LID 99 but failed, then escalated the offensive by rotating in battalions from MOCs 17 and 14.
Military analysts noted that the junta is also preparing an offensive on AA-held Ann Town in southern Arakan State, moving battalions from northern Shan State via the Natyaekan Tactical Operations Command near the Arakan-Magway border.
“MOC 17 launched an offensive with two battalions, but after suffering around 70 casualties in the clashes on September 4 and 7, its spearhead was essentially broken. The original plan had been to advance from Natyaekan to Ann, but MOC 17 ended up facing the same fate as LID 99, whose spearhead was also shattered near Natyaekan. Based on this, it’s possible that the entire MOC 17 could be effectively wiped out,” said Captain Zin Yaw, a former junta officer who joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), an anti-coup campaign in which civil servants and security personnel refuse to work for the coup regime.
The junta has imposed martial law in resistance-controlled townships across Myanmar and is making desperate efforts to reclaim them, achieving some notable gains in northern Shan State.
However, the junta’s attempts to enter AA-controlled townships in Arakan State have failed, repeatedly pushed back by the AA’s coordinated defensive operations.
The junta’s ground forces are trying to advance into Arakan State from Magway, Bago, and Ayeyarwady regions, with possible additional incursions from Yaw Township in Magway and Paletwa Township in Chin State, military analysts suggested.
