AA captures Ah Lel Than Kyaw camp in south Maungdaw

Naung Min Thu, Narinjara News, 13 June 2024

The Arakan Army (AA) has captured Ah Lel Than Kyaw camp in south Maungdaw  on the night of Wednesday, said local sources.

After capturing six military bases including Inn Din 6th border guard police battalion, Myin Hlut 9th border guard police battalion and Mawyawadi 4th border guard police battalion, the AA fighters launched an offensive against the Ah Lel Than Kyaw camp in the afternoon and finally conquered it the same night.

"The AA fighters are continuing offensives against Na Khaung To and Pa Din camps on Thursday  morning too,”  said  a resident of Ma Gyee Chaung Muslim village.

The latest capture is a well-known military camp in south Maungdaw of Rakhine State and it gave shelter to over 200 soldiers and border guard personnel.

The AA fighters attacked the camp at the entry point  to Maungdaw firing artillery shells. The junta soldiers conducted airstrikes with jet fighters and Y-12 aircraft from the military vessels.

Many soldiers retreated to Na Khaung To and Pa Din camps. Fierce fighting continued as the junta forces, combined with the retreating personnel, tried to defend both the military bases.

“Airstrikes by Y-12 aircraft, blasts of artillery shells, gunfire from small arms, drones, APG launchers and machine guns were used in the battles. The 5th border guard police battalion and the navy personnel fired many artillery shells,” said a Maungdaw resident.

The local military analysts stated that despite the junta’s reinforced soldiers along with weapons via landing crafts at Ah Lel Than Kyaw, Na Khaung To, Pa Din, Ma Gyee Chaung, and Maung Ni camps, they failed to defend those bases fully and hence many soldiers retreated.

The AA fighters fully captured the junta's border guard camps along Ah Ngu Maw road in the southern part of Maungdaw. These camps include Tower Hill (captured on 2 June), Kyauk Pan Du camp (on 3 June), Gwa Sone Pyin (4 June), Myin Hlut camp (4 June),  Inn Din/ 6th border guard police battalion (6 June) and 9th border guard police battalion (7 June), said an AA statement.

On 7 June, the fighting intensified around Thar Yar Kone village  as the  AA fighters launched offensives from around  200 meters northeast of Ma Gyee Kone village in the morning hours.

Two outposts of the 2nd border guard police battalion were surrounded by the AA fighters and facing the heat, the junta soldiers retreated towards cashew farms and the police battalion in Maungdaw town.

The AA has already declared that it would continue attacking the military camps based in the Maungdaw locality. A  warning was also issued to the junta soldiers to surrender or face the consequence. The AA statement, issued on 7 June, also assured necessary care to the surrendered soldiers along with their families.