Burma Army and AA military tensions in Maungdaw, Rakhine

 

Fighting broke out between the military council and an armed group in Maungdaw, northern Rakhine State, on November 9. The Burmese military has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Arakan Army (AA) has claimed responsibility for the attack. A spokesman for the AA said that tensions between the Burmese Army and the AA are still high in Maungdaw. Aung Myat Thu will tell the news from Rangoon.

 

A statement from the Arakanese Armed Forces (AA) said that a clash took place near Kawela Mountain in Maungdaw Township, northern Rakhine State, after a year-long ceasefire between the Tatmadaw and the Tatmadaw.

Khaing Thukha, a spokesman for the Arakanese Armed Forces (AA), told VOA that the fighting broke out when the Tatmadaw entered the area near the Wela Mountain in northern Maungdaw Township.

“Yesterday, November 9, at 11 pm, the Burmese army entered the area around Wela Taung, north of Maungdaw Township, and the Burmese army entered for a few minutes. The details of the damage are not yet known. So, there are negotiations between the two sides on this issue. So far, there are military tensions between the two armies in the area. ”

On the military side, General Zaw Min Tun, a spokesman for the military council, told VOA that yesterday's fighting in Maungdaw was not with the Arakanese armed group AA, but with the ARSA terrorist group.

"It did not happen with AA," he said. There, at around 11:30 pm on the 9th in Maungdaw, about 30 ARSA insurgents clashed with security forces about 7,000 meters southeast of Khamaung Seik village in Maungdaw. The shooting lasted about five to ten minutes. There, ARSA forces retreated to the north. Some of our soldiers were wounded. ”

In Rakhine State, a ceasefire has been in place for more than a year between the army and the Arakanese armed group AA since before the November 2020 election. However, a spokesman for the Arakan Armed Forces (AA) told VOA that fighting between the army and the AA had stopped since yesterday and that fighting could continue depending on the Burmese army.

"It depends on the Burmese military what will happen next," he said. "If they continue to attack, the fighting is likely to continue."

More than 200,000 people have been displaced by fighting between the Arakan Army (AA) and the Burmese Army in northern Rakhine State since the end of 2018, leaving nearly 100,000 displaced.