Arakan Army Seizes Border Guard Police Outpost in Myanmar’s Rakhine State

News Desk

Rakhine State-based ethnic armed group the Arakan Army (AA) seized a Border Guard Police outpost in northern Maungdaw in Rakhine State in a pre-dawn attack on Monday, according to the armed group’s statement.

The Leik Ya outpost is on the road leading to Kyein Chaung Village, where the No. 7 Border Guard Police Station is located, and Taungpyo Village.

The junta side suffered heavy casualties in the fierce fighting, and some regime personnel surrendered to the AA, according to Maungdaw residents.

In its press release about the fighting, the AA said it captured three prisoners of war, retrieved the bodies of some junta personnel and seized weapons and military equipment.

The Irrawaddy was unable to contact AA spokesman U Khaing Thukha for comment.

The AA said it launched its attack on the junta outpost around 4 a.m. on Monday, and was able to take control of it after an hour of fighting despite junta artillery support for its forces from various directions.

Junta soldiers and Border Guard Police were stationed at the outpost, which was responsible for unprovoked artillery attacks on wards and villages, claimed the AA.

An AA fighter died in the clash, added the statement.

The Rakhine ethnic armed group and Myanmar military have been locked in fierce fighting in Maungdaw, northern Rakhine, and in neighboring Chin State’s Paletwa since August.

According to local media based in Rakhine, at least six civilians including children have been killed by junta artillery strikes amid the renewed fighting between the two sides. Observers said the AA has seized at least 30 junta outposts in Maungdaw.