Two Myanmar junta colonels and a major were among many soldiers killed by the ethnic Arakan Army (AA) during its seizure this week of the last remaining major military base in Ponnagyun town, which is not far from Rakhine State’s capital Sittwe, the ethnic army said.
On Monday, AA troops captured the headquarters of the junta’s Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 550, allowing the ethnic army to take complete control of Ponnagyun. The town is just 33 km north of Sittwe, which the junta has been fortifying for several weeks.
AA troops first seized the Ponnagyun Township police station near the LIB 550 headquarters, at which time 23 police officers defected to the ethnic army. Amid heavy junta shelling and airstrikes, the AA then took complete control of the LIB 550 HQ on Monday after 13 days of intense clashes from Feb. 21 to March 4.
The AA said Wednesday it found the bodies of many killed soldiers at the seized military HQ,
including its two senior officers—tactical commander Colonel Myo Min Ko Ko and Major Saw Htwe—as well as that of Lieutenant Colonel Phyo Thu Aung, the commander of the junta’s Infantry Battalion 208.
A number of soldiers were captured along with a large haul of weapons and ammunition. The AA said it spared the lives of the large number of regime troops who raised white flags, along with their family members.
On Sunday, AA special combat troops attacked and repulsed three junta vessels that were carrying reinforcements to the LIB 550 headquarters. Junta aircraft and forces at military bases in nearby Sittwe and Buthidaung townships attempted to protect the vessels by bombarding the resistance forces, but failed.
AA troops also managed to repulse a military unit of reinforcements near Amyint Kyun Village as it was attempting to travel from Sittwe to the LIB 550 HQ in Ponnagyun. During the ambush, the AA troops also destroyed two junta vehicles mounted with artillery.
The ethnic army on Wednesday declared Ponnagyun a liberated township, free of regime forces, and vowed to continue its “relentless offensives” to seize the remaining townships in Rakhine State.
The AA also recently seized the whole of Pauktaw Township near Sittwe, and now surrounds the city.
Last month the AA warned the Myanmar military commanders in Sittwe to surrender or face defeat. Over half of the city’s residents, including many junta administrators, have reportedly already fled.
Military analysts told The Irrawaddy the AA now controls all land routes to Sittwe, leaving only sea and air transport available to the junta.
“With the fall of Ponnagyun, the AA is now able to directly threaten Sittwe,” a military analyst said.
The ethnic army has waged a large-scale offensive against regime targets in Rakhine State and Paletwa Township in neighboring Chin State since Nov. 13 last year. It has seized over 170 junta strongholds and some nine towns. Several hundred regime forces including commanders have been captured along with their families.
