Arakan Army gains ground in Rakhine conflict, seizes control of Paletwa and other towns

BORDER LENS
The Borderlens Desk
February 20, 2024 

Reports emerging from Myanmar on Thursday have indicated that an ethnic army in the country has launched an attack on yet another major city in the west, with the state’s capital not far behind. The Arakan Army (AA), a rebel group, has intensified its fighting against Myanmar’s army in the strategically significant city of Sittwe in Rakhine province. This area holds particular importance due to India’s construction of a port for connectivity to its northeastern states via the Bay of Bengal.

Myanmar reimposes internet shutdown in conflict-torn Rakhine, Chin states: telco operator

bdnews24.com
Reuters
04 Feb 2020

FILE PHOTO: A landscape view of the downtown with ancient pagodas in the background in Mrauk U, Rakhine state, Myanmar Jun 28, 2019. REUTERS/Ann Wang

Myanmar has reimposed an internet shutdown in two conflict-torn western states, after partially lifting the blackout five months ago, a leading telecoms operator said late on Monday.

 

Norwegian mobile operator Telenor Group said in a statement the transport and communications ministry had ordered for mobile internet traffic to be stopped again in five townships in Rakhine and Chin states for three months.

PM’s China Visit: Dhaka wants stronger role of Beijing on Rohingya

The Daily Star
 June 29, 2019

Dhaka is expecting Beijing, a close ally of Myanmar, to play a more effective role in addressing the Rohingya crisis as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visits China from July 1-5.

“We hope Rohingya issue will get prominence during her visit. We have high hopes to see progress in this regard,” Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said at a press briefing at his ministry yesterday.

Chin Rights Group Says Myanmar Military is Forcing Villagers to Serve as Laborers and Porters

RFA
2019-05-24

A sign welcomes visitors to Paletwa township in western Myanmar's Chin state in an undated photo.
Photo courtesy of the Wai Lu Kyaw Foundation

An ethnic Chin human rights group in western Myanmar’s Chin state says the government military has forced residents of four villages to serve as laborers, transporting food rations for troops who are engaged in intense fighting with a rebel ethnic army in the region.

Chin Ethnics Urge Arakan Army to Free Villagers; AA Warns of Severe Fighting With Myanmar Army

RADIO FREE ASIA
2019-04-29

The Arakan Army insignia is seen on the uniform of a soldier in western Myanmar's Rakhine state in an undated photo.RFA 

 

An ethnic Chin group has called on the rebel Arakan Army (AA) to release 52 residents it abducted from Paletwa township in western Myanmar’s Chin state during a clash earlier this year with Myanmar forces that spilled over from armed conflict in adjacent Rakhine state, the head of the group said.

The Original Panglong.

The Irrawaddy
By WEI YAN AUNG | 26 March 2019

Shan chieftains pose for a photo at the 1946 Panglong in Shan State

Today marks the 73rd anniversary of a conference held in advance of the historic 1947 Panglong. The 1946 conference, which ran through March 28, also in Shan State’s Panglong Township, has been recognized as the first Panglong but is less known than the one that followed.

Hundreds of Arakanese, Chin Flee to Bangladesh as Army, AA Clash in Paletwa

The Irrawaddy

By Moe Myint ,6 February 2019

 

 A separate group of displaced Arakanese and ethnic Chin trek to safety in Bangladesh’s Bandarban District in recent days. / Ko Ko Marma / Facebook

 

YANGON—About 250 newly displaced Arakanese and ethnic Chin from Chin State’s Paletwa Township were driven from their homes into neighboring Bangladesh last week by fierce fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA). Some of the children in the group are reportedly gravely ill as the refugees lack food, clothing and shelter in the area’s cold conditions, a rights worker said.

UN expert concerned over escalating conflict in Myanmar.

Yanghee Lee expresses alarm on escalating violence in Rakhine, Chin States, calls for protection of civilians
Anadolu Agency (AA News),19.01.2019
GENEVA

A UN expert expressed her concerns over the escalating conflict in northern and central Rakhine and Chin States of Myanmar on Friday, calling for the protection of civilians in the region.

Myanmar: UN expert expresses alarm at escalating conflict, calls for civilian protection.

18th January 2019

• Heavy fighting between the army and ethnic group in Rakhine, Chin States
• At least 5,000 civilians displaced from homes
• Humanitarian aid blocked by Govt must be allowed to resume

GENEVA (18 January 2019) – The UN’s human rights expert on Myanmar expressed alarm at the escalating violence in northern and central Rakhine State and Chin State, and called on all sides to exercise restraints in use of force and to ensure the protection of civilians.

( 20.11.2016 ) Aid to target Chin and Rakhine

Submitted by Eleven on Sun, 11/20/2016 

Writer: Aung Ye Ko

The government is planning to use most of last year's foreign aid budget of US$203 million for poverty-stricken Chin and Rakhine states, according to the Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) of the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Rural Development.

The government is planning to use US$105 million upgrading roads to protect from further natural disasters in Chin and Rakhine states, including the Kalay-Falam-Hakha and Ngatinechaung-Gwa roads.

Another US$70 million will be used to upgrade rural roads and on vocational training. The government planned US$15 million for emergency responses and US$10 million for project planning.

Floods and landslides hit the states from July to September last year and problems persist. 

According to the ESMF, poverty rates in Chin and Rakhine states were 78 and 71 per cent, respectively.

Translated by Aung Kyaw Kyaw