[Field Story] Myanmar rebels also take control of the northwestern Bangladesh border area
The rebels, who are carrying out an offensive against the Myanmar military regime, have also occupied the border area of Northwestern Bangladesh.
According to local media Irrawaddy on the 21st, Myanmar's ethnic armed group Arakan Army ( AA ) took control of Maungdaw Township (district), which was the last military government to control, in northern Rakhine State, bordering Bangladesh.
AA announced that it had captured a major military base in the Maungdaw region and rescued more than 2,000 civilians, including international humanitarian organization staff. Residents and activists said Myanmar troops have mostly fled Maungdaw, with only a few remaining, including the wounded.
Located in the northern tip of Rakhine State, Maungdaw is home to the Rohingya, a Muslim minority in Buddhist-majority Myanmar. The Myanmar military and AA have been engaged in fierce fighting over Maungdaw. During this process, suspicions were raised that violence and abuse were being inflicted on the Rohingya people.
Last June, the AA announced an attack on Maungdaw and notified all residents to leave the village immediately. In the same month, the UN World Food Program (WFP) warehouse in Maungdaw suffered damage. WFP said that a warehouse containing 1,175 tons of food and supplies was looted and set on fire. The Myanmar military and the AA have been blaming each other for the damage to the Rohingya and the UN warehouse.
The AA formed a 'brotherly alliance' with the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army ( MNDAA ) and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army ( TNLA ) and launched a joint attack against the Myanmar military in Shan State, adjacent to China, in late October last year.
Afterwards, the Civil Defense Force ( PDF ) under the National Unity Government ( NUG ), the provisional government of the democratic camp, and other local ethnic armed groups joined in, putting the military government on the defensive.
The junta has been losing ground on the periphery, having lost key chokepoints along its border with China, and has also lost territory along the Bangladesh border to insurgents.
Source: News
In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. (Psalm 31:1-2)
Amen! There is a constant war going on in Myanmar as rebels continue to conquer areas of the country. The Rohingya, a Muslim people, are suffering and dying in the war.
But we believe that God wants to save the Rohingya and all the souls suffering from war in the land of Myanmar! May they look to our God and not to any other salvation!
We trust that God will not put to shame those who flee to Him forever, but will deliver them with justice. Hear their cry, God, and be to them a solid rock and a saving fortress!
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