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Military sources said that AA and the military junta are firing at each other with heavy weapons near Sittwe Township in Rakhine State.
Since February 18, the military junta has been shelling Arakan Army from the No.12 Police Battalion in Sittwe and Kyar Ma Thauk and Padaleik outposts in the township, while the AA has been returning heavy weapons fire at
Regional Operations Commands and military outposts in Sittwe Township, a military source said.
“They are firing at each other with heavy weapons. The military council’s battalions have also been firing heavy weapons these days. They are also bombing the outposts with heavy weapons and drones. The AA is also firing back at the outposts of the military council with heavy weapons, which is why there are clashes,” the military source told BBM.
The AA attacked outposts in Kankaw Kyun, Taw Kan, Ra Tan, Kyandaw, and Zaw Matat villages near the Regional Operations Commands in Sittwe Township in early 2026.On January 9, the military sources said, the AA captured at least two outposts.
Because of this situation, the military council has deployed its security forces in Sittwe, and has also entered villages near the Regional Operations Commands, burning down houses, and is preparing to demolish fortified houses for building bunkers near the Regional Operations Commands , a Sittwe resident told BBM.
“The Regional Operations Commands has deployed more security forces in the city, and is also demolishing houses and building bunkers near the Regional Operations Commands. In recent days, it has entered villages near the Regional Operations Commands and burned down houses. The fighting in Sittwe has been intermittent,” the resident added.
Currently, the military council and the AA are engaged in a two-sided battle in the villages of Zaw Matat, Kankaw Kyun, Taw Kan, and Padaleik in Sittwe Township, according to military sources.
CDM Captain Zin Yaw said that AA is in a position of encircling Sittwe rather than fighting to take over the city after occupying 14 townships in Rakhine.
“The AA is in a position of encircling Sittwe rather than fighting to take over the city. They don’t have any troops to fight in the city. All the troops are outside Sittwe, next to the Sittwe-Yangon highway. There are police battalions in the city and a navy battalion on the edge of the city. But if Regional Operations Commands falls, Sittwe will fall without fighting. The way the AA fights is that they don’t attack the township people to cause trouble, they only attack the battalions and headquarters. Since the battalions and headquarters are outside the city, the AA is threatening and firing on those battalions,” CDM Captain Zin Yaw told BBM.
Military observers say that the military council has been continuously bombing townships controlled by the AA due to the situation in Sittwe.
Yesterday, February 24, at around 2:00 p.m., the military council dropped two 500-pound bombs on a market in Yoe Ngu village, Ponnagyun township, killing 17 civilians, including children, and injuring 14 others, the Arakan Army (AA) said in a statement.
