Huge setback for junta army in Myanmar as Arakan Army captures military command in Rakhine, India supported…

Arakan Army has claimed to have captured the deputy regional commander of the Western Command Ain.

junta army, Myanmar, Arakan Army, Rakhine, India, Naypyidaw, Myanmar army, Rohingya Muslims, China

Naypyidaw: The military-ruled junta army in Myanmar has suffered a major setback. The country’s rebel group Arakan Army has captured a regional military command in the Rakhine state. The Arakan Army said in a statement on its Telegram channel that it was “completely captured” by a command on Friday, December 20, after several weeks of fighting.

It will be the second regional command to fall to ethnic rebels in the past five months. This is considered to be a major setback for the Myanmar army.

Major losses for the Myanmar army

Myanmar’s military has 14 regional commands in the country, many of which are currently fighting ethnic rebel groups or the People’s Defense Forces. Myanmar’s military seized power in 2021 in a coup d’état against which ethnic groups have waged a war. One of these groups is the Arakan Army, which has inflicted major damage on the junta army in Rakhine state. Violence against Rohingya Muslims in the Rakhine state has been in the spotlight.

Fierce fighting in Rakhine state

Rakhine state has been witnessing heavy fighting since the Arakan Army launched an attack on security forces in November last year. Fighters of the Arakan Army have captured large parts of Rakhine state. The state is home to a number of port projects supported by China and India. The state capital, Sittwe, is completely cut off.

Regional Commander in custody

News agency AFP has reported that the Arakan Army has claimed to have captured the deputy regional commander of the Western Command Ain. They have also reportedly posted photos of the commander in custody.

Earlier in August, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army captured the Northeast Command in Lashio, Shan state. Myanmar has long been under military rule and violence since independence from Britain in 1948, but until August, the military had never lost any regional command.