This time, the Arakan Army has captured Myanmar’s naval base!
Last Updated on December 28, 2024 6:10 am
After occupying the border, Myanmar’s rebels are now ‘looking’ at the country’s administrative and commercial center!
The Irrawaddy, a media outlet controlled by the self-proclaimed National Unity Government, which supports pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, reported on Wednesday that fighters from the Arakan Army, the largest ally of the rebel alliance, have captured the Thandwe naval base near the commercial capital (former capital) Yangon.
The neighboring town of Gawa is also under their control. The area adjacent to the Irrawaddy River is very important from a military perspective. The road from Gawa leads to Yangon and the capital Naypyidaw.
The Arakan Army captured the Kayaktao naval base a few months ago. But this time, they have practically moved closer to the main administrative center of Myanmar. The Irrawaddy indicates that the rebels’ joint forces may move in that direction to overthrow the junta government.
Incidentally, this is the first time in the last 13 months of civil war that the Arakan Army has entered the Irrawaddy River Basin.
After Rakhine bordering Bangladesh, Myanmar rebels took over the Chin province adjacent to the Indian state of Manipur last Sunday night! This is where the Kuki people of Myanmar (known as Kuki-Chin in that country) live. As a result, there is a new threat of infiltration across the border into Manipur.
The rebel alliance took control of a large part of the border area with Thailand and China a few months ago by removing the forces of the military junta government.
Earlier this month, the rebel alliance led by the largest rebel armed group, the Arakan Army, occupied the Rohingya-populated Rakhine province bordering Bangladesh. This time, they also took over the area adjacent to Manipur.
The headquarters of the junta army’s Western Command is in the coastal town of Ngapali, not far from Gawa. The Arakan Army and their ally, the Karen National Liberation Army, have already started preparing for an attack there.
The Irrawaddy claims that the Yao Defense Force, a new anti-junta alliance affiliated with the Chinese Brotherhood, the Yao Army active in the Sagaing region, and the Myinda People’s Defense Force have played an important role in the fight to seize the Chinese province.
In February 2021, the Myanmar army overthrew the government led by the National League for Democracy, the party of the leader of the democratic movement, Suu Kyi, in a coup. The rule of the military junta began.
Two and a half years later, in November 2023, the Three Brotherhood Alliance, a new alliance of the country’s three rebel groups, the Tang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the Arakan Army (AA), and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), began an operation against the military junta government. The operation was codenamed Operation 1027.
Later, the ‘China National Army’ (CNA) and the Chinaland Defense Force (CDF), the Kachin Liberation Defense Force (KLDF) and the People’s Defense Force (PDF), the armed forces of the self-proclaimed National Unity Government, which supports Suu Kyi.
The self-proclaimed National Unity Government, the pro-junta political party Shan State Progress Party and their armed wing have supported the rebel groups.
The United Wa State Party (UWSP), a political group supported by the rebels, has already started running a parallel government in some of the ‘liberated’ areas.
Source: Anandabazar Newspaper, The Irrawaddy