#Strongest #Rebels #Seize #Myanmar #Military #Command #Headquarters #Jail #Hundreds #Soldiers
The Arakan Army, Myanmar’s strongest rebel group, seized the headquarters of Operational Command Number 15 in Buthidaung. The group imprisoned hundreds of government soldiers who surrendered. Photo/Arakan Army Information Desk
NAYPYIDAW – Arakan Army (Arakan Army), the leading and strongest ethnic rebel group fighting the military junta Myanmar, announced that it had imprisoned hundreds of government troops after seizing the headquarters of Operational Command Number 15 in Buthidaung.
Rebel forces have made significant progress in the fight against the military government, led by General Min Aung Hlaing, in recent months.
General Hlaing’s forces have controlled Myanmar—also known as Burma—since a military coup in 2021 ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government.
Quoting the report AP, Tuesday (7/5/2024), the announcement from the Arakan Army was made Monday evening. However, the Myanmar military junta was not ready to comment.
The Arakan Army, the well-trained and armed military wing of the Rakhine ethnic minority movement, has been carrying out attacks on military posts in western Rakhine state for about six months.
The group said in a video statement posted on Telegram that soldiers belonging to the military government’s Operational Command No. 15 headquarters in Buthidaung town in Rakhine surrendered after being surrounded.
Buthidaung is located about 240 miles southwest of Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city.
The fighting in Rakhine is part of a nationwide conflict in Myanmar that began after the military overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 and suppressed widespread peaceful protests seeking to restore democratic civilian rule.
