Junta launches offensive to rrevent Sittwe and Kyaukphyu from falling to AA

By Admin 06 Sep 2025

DMG Newsroom

6 September 2025, Sittwe

The Myanmar military junta has launched fresh offensives in a desperate bid to prevent Sittwe and Kyaukphyu - the last major towns in Arakan State still under its control - from falling into the hands of the Arakan Army (AA), according to an AA statement released on September 5.

Despite these offensives, the AA has already encircled and blockaded both towns, and junta forces are reportedly suffering heavy casualties due to AA's defensive operations and counterattacks.

"The junta is attacking to hold onto its remaining strongholds, but under the AA's determined morale and coordinated counteroffensives, they continue to sustain severe losses," the AA said in its statement.

Military analysts argue that the junta's escalations in Sittwe and Kyaukphyu are directly tied to its push for a sham election, which it hopes will lend a veneer of legitimacy to its rule. By intensifying fighting under the cover of "election security," the generals seek both political and military advantage - at the expense of civilians trapped in the conflict.

Local sources report that from Sittwe, junta forces are bombarding Pauktaw and Ponnagyun townships - both under AA control - with artillery and drones. More than 30 villages along the Sittwe-Ponnagyun border have already been forcibly displaced.

In Kyaukphyu, clashes are taking place around the Dhanyawaddy naval base, the Onshore Gas Terminal (OGT), and the No. 32 Police Battalion headquarters. Junta naval vessels stationed offshore are shelling villages daily and conducting air and drone strikes, forcing civilians to flee.

Even villages without active fighting - such as Yanaungtaung, Minbyin, Kyaukpyauk, and Zinchang - have come under indiscriminate shelling and airstrikes, a clear sign that the junta is targeting civilian areas to instill fear and weaken local support for the AA.

"The AA is not currently launching large-scale offensives. What we are seeing is primarily the junta's attempt to push forward, citing elections as justification. The AA is reinforcing positions and waiting strategically, with Kyaukphyu seeing the most intense fighting. In Sittwe, the junta is under siege. If the generals escalate further, the battles will intensify dramatically," an Arakan military analyst observed.

The AA currently controls 14 out of Arakan's 17 townships, leaving only Sittwe, Kyaukphyu, and Manaung under junta garrisons and siege.

Since the launch of its town-capture campaign in November 2023, the AA has steadily expanded its territorial control. In its latest statement, the AA pledged that the struggle will continue until the political aspirations of the Arakanese people are fully realized.

The junta's latest offensives underscore how it is gambling on war to maintain relevance - using "elections" as a smokescreen for repression, even as its battlefield position continues to erode.