AA captures Kan Sauk-based 539th battalion, 300 armed soldiers surrender

The Arakan Army (AA) has captured the 539th light infantry battalion based in Kan Sauk under Kyauktaw township of Rakhine State following which around  300 junta soldiers from this battalion surrendered their weapons.

At approximately 10 am on Tuesday, a reliable source revealed that a large group of soldiers surrendered to the AA and informed that  20 more armed individuals were hiding at the base. Initially hesitant to surrender out of fear, they however later surrendered after a loudspeaker announcement was made. So the entire battalion is understood to lay their arms.

The AA fighters initially encircled the base and started attacks from all sides. It followed an intense fighting between the two sides in the early morning hours.

"The AA fighters attacked the battalion from all sides along the Kan Sauk ridge. The soldiers finally surrendered because they realized they cannot escape," explained a local resident.

The AA initiated the offensive against the 539th battalion on 10 January. Located at the foothills of Kan Sauk mountain, alongside the Sittwe-Yangon highway, the 539th battalion was positioned along the Kan Sauk ridge.

The battalion  not only served as a checkpoint with a lengthy inspection for the civilians since the onset of gun fighting in Rakhine during  2019, but also engaged its soldiers to regularly fires artillery shells on the neighbouring residential areas.

On 14 January, the AA successfully captured the 377th artillery battalion situated on the Sittwe-Rangoon highway in the south of Kyauktaw township, said the Three Brotherhood Alliance.