Arakan Army clashes with military in battle for greater autonomy in Rakhine state
John
Zaw, Mandalay Myanmar
March 27, 2019
More than 16,000 people have been forced to flee their homes as fighting has raged in recent weeks between Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army in Rakhine State.
The Arakan Army is a largely Buddhist militia fighting for greater autonomy in Rakhine, where there is also a conflict between government forces and Muslim Rohingya.
The ethnically and religiously divided state came under the global spotlight after the military’s bloody crackdown in August 2017 that forced more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to Bangladesh
The United Nations said fighting has escalated in Rakhine and in Paletwa township in Chin state in recent weeks, with civilian casualties and displacement.
It said more than 16,000 people were displaced to 58 sites in Rakhine as of March 24. At least 500 were displaced in Paletwa. The displaced people are staying mainly in monasteries, paddy fields or schools.
A March 24 report of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said due to the continued security situation, population movements remain fluid and continue to fluctuate.
The report said the government, local communities, security officers, the Red Cross Movement, international NGOs and U.N. agencies are responding to “the most urgent needs of the displaced people.”
Zaw Win, a civil society leader in Buthidaung town in northern Rakhine, said rice and potatoes had been given to the internally displaced persons (IDPs) who are taking shelter at government-run schools.
He said the numbers of people fleeing their homes is increasing and at least 3,000 IDPs are in villages in Buthidaung and Yathetaung townships.
“IDPs are in urgent need of shelter as they are packed in monasteries and schools,” Zaw Win told ucanews.com.
On March 22, seven civilians were killed by artillery fire during a battle between the military and the Arakan Army in Si Taung Gyi village in Buthidaung, according to media reports.
Fighting in conflict-torn Rakhine has spread since January from the north to Mrauk-U and the outskirts of Sittwe, the state’s capital city. It has claimed at least 24 civilians lives, while dozens are reported missing and dozens of policemen have been killed.
The military and the Arakan Army have engaged in nearly 100 clashes in Rakhine since the Arakan Army made deadly attacks on police outposts in early January, killing 13 officers, said Maj. Gen. Soe Naing Oo, head of the military information team who was quoted by RFA.
The military declared a four-month ceasefire in northern and eastern Myanmar on Dec. 21, but Rakhine was excluded and operations against the Arakan Army have continued.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s government is trying to end decades-long conflict in the country but peace remains elusive as fighting still occurs in the ethnic regions of Rakhine and Shan states.
On March 21, government peace negotiators had a meeting with delegates from armed ethnic groups including the Arakan Army that have not signed a nationwide ceasefire agreement, but no agreement was reached apart from a resolution to hold further discussions.
The Arakan Army has widespread support from ethnic Rakhines who have felt marginalized and neglected by the union government for decades in one of the country’s poorest states.
The Arakan Army was formed in Rakhine in 2009 to protect ethnic Rakhine people and it is estimated to have several thousand well-equipped soldiers.