Myanmar military faces a brand new risk from armed ethnic foes who open a brand new entrance in a western state

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s army authorities, below stress within the nation’s northeast the place it lately misplaced strategic territory to an alliance of armed ethnic teams, confronted a recent problem Monday when one of many teams launched assaults within the western state of Rakhine.

The Arakan Army launched shock assaults on two outposts of the Border Guard Police, a para-military power, in Rakhine’s Rathedaung township, based on unbiased on-line media and residents of the world. The assaults came about regardless of a yearlong cease-fire with Myanmar’s army authorities.

The Arakan Army is the well-trained and well-armed army wing of the Rakhine ethnic minority motion searching for autonomy from the central authorities. Rakhine can be recognized by its older identify of Arakan. It’s the location of a brutal military counterinsurgency operation in 2017 that drove about 740,000 minority Rohingya Muslims to hunt security throughout the border in Bangladesh.

Fighting was additionally reported between the rebels and the army in Minbya, Maungdaw, Mrauk-U and Kyauktaw townships. Arakan Princess Media, a web-based information outlet, mentioned two Border Guard Police outposts in Rathedaung had been seized by the rebels and 22 police in Kyauktaw had laid down their weapons.

The military blocked all roads and residents within the state’s capital of Sittwe have been ordered to not go outdoors after 9 p.m., the studies mentioned.

The Arakan Army, together with the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army — calling themselves the Three Brotherhood Alliance — launched a coordinated offensive on Oct. 27 in northern Shan state in northeastern Myanmar alongside the border with China.

The alliance has claimed widespread victories and the army authorities has acknowledged dropping management of three cities, one in every of which is a significant border crossing for commerce with China.

Myanmar’s ruling army council declared martial legislation in eight townships close to the Chinese border, the state-controlled Global New Light of Myanmar reported Monday.

The offensive within the northern a part of Shan state was already seen as a major problem for the military, which has been struggling to comprise a nationwide rebellion by the members of Peoples’ Defense Force. The pro-democracy resistance group was fashioned after the military seized energy from Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected authorities in February 2021. It additionally arrange unfastened alliances with a number of of the ethnic armed teams.

“If combat persists, it will open a significant new front for the regime, which is already overstretched with fighting including on its eastern border with China,” Richard Horsey, the senior adviser on Myanmar for the Crisis Group assume tank, mentioned in an emailed assertion.

The army-installed appearing president, Myint Swe, mentioned at a gathering final week of the state National Defense and Security Council that the nation is in important situation and will break up up if the army doesn’t successfully handle the issues in Shan state, the Global New Light of Myanmar reported.