Fighters and locals said on Wednesday that Myanmar’s military is retaking an important town from an armed ethnic minority group in a prolonged offensive using fighter jets.
On November 15, the Arakan Army advanced into Pauktaw, the capital of western Rakhine state, a 20,000-person town near a vital deepwater port.
It opened a new front in an onslaught by a coalition of ethnic minority groups throughout northern Myanmar, shocking the country’s junta, cutting off trade links with China, and resulting in the displacement of around 330,000 people since last month.
Pauktaw has become one of the key battlegrounds, and residents contacted by AFP on Wednesday reported heavy battles in and around the town, which is 25 kilometres (16 miles) from Sittwe, the state capital.
“They (the junta) have been firing heavy weapons at the town continuously,” one resident told AFP by phone, requesting anonymity for security reasons.
“Yesterday a jet fighter dropped two bombs that started a fire,” said the resident who said they were sheltering in a nearby village, adding the blaze was still burning.
Over the previous two weeks, Pauktaw has seen fighting, according to AFP. However, the most in-depth reports of the struggle for town control came from the locals and a statement issued by the Arakan Army (AA).
According to a Sittwe local, Pauktaw was being shelled by the military from bases nearby.
“They are firing artillery from Sittwe towards other towns especially Pauktaw every day, day and night,” a resident told AFP, also requesting anonymity.
“We can’t sleep well at night as the sound of shelling wakes us up at midnight,” another resident said.
Footage released on AA’s Telegram account showed plumes of smoke rising from Pauktaw and included the sound of gunshots.
The AA claimed to be “rescuing” stranded civilians. According to the UN, 18,000 Pauktaw inhabitants have already left the town.
The military was battling near Pauktaw on Tuesday, according to Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun, but he could not provide any specifics.
The ethnic Rakhine people of the state, who live close to the Bangladeshi border, have been fighting for their autonomy from the AA for many years. Several armed ethnic minority groups have fought the military of Myanmar ever since the country gained independence from Britain in 1948.
Some groups want greater autonomy while others simply want the right to run the lucrative trade in jade, drugs and timber in their territory.
The AA launched an offensive against the junta last month across northern Shan state, which borders China, in coordination with the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA). The ongoing conflict, according to analysts, is the junta’s greatest military test since it took over in a coup in 2021.
Since the attack started on October 27, about 200 civilians—including children—have died, according to the UN.
