Arakan Army attacks regime forces in Rakhine State, Bago and Magway regions

Around 400 troops arrived at the regime’s Light Infantry Division (LID) 34 in Kyaukphyu Township on Friday to provide reinforcements, residents told DVB. Kyaukphyu, located 317 miles (510 km) south of the Arakan State capital Sittwe, is contested between the Arakan Army (AA) and regime forces.

The AA has been attacking regime positions in-and-around the Danyawaddy Naval Base, located 19 miles (30 km) east of Kyaukphyu, in January, residents added.

An AA source told DVB on the condition of anonymity that regime forces have suffered “heavy casualties” in Kyaukphyu, but didn’t disclose the exact number of casualties from either side.

Residents in Gwa Township, located 504 miles (811 km) south of Sittwe, told DVB that the Myanmar Navy and Air Force launched attacks against the regime’s Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 562 and 563, which are under AA control, on Jan. 29. Gwa was seized by the AA in December 2024.

One Gwa resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that regime outposts were “deserted.” No casualties have been reported.

Many residents are unable to return to their homes in Gwa and Thandwe townships due to the military’s aerial and naval attacks. Thandwe, located 584 miles (939 km) south of Sittwe, was seized by the AA in August 2024.

The AA has taken control of 14 out of Arakan’s 17 townships, as well as Paletwa Township in southern Chinland, since it launched a statewide offensive against regime forces on Nov. 13, 2023.

They were among the 63 townships placed under martial law by Min Aung Hlaing on July 29 after he lifted the nationwide state of emergency, which paved the way for the military’s 2025-26 elections which ended on Jan. 25.

Sittwe and the island of Manaung are under regime control. Residents told DVB that the AA seized the regime’s Point 666 outpost in Pandaung Township, Bago Region, on Jan. 28, following a three-month-long siege.

Retaliatory airstrikes were carried out by the Myanmar Air Force on the Point 666 outpost on Jan. 29-30, residents added. Pandaung is located 188 miles (302 km) north of the region’s capital Bago and 89 miles (143 km) east of Taungup, Arakan State.

At least 100 regime troops were killed by the AA over the past three months in Bago, a source told DVB. AA casualties were not disclosed.

Pandaung is home to four regime weapon factories called the Directorate of Defence Industries (DDI), known in Burmese as KaPaSa.

The AA has reportedly captured at least five regime outposts in Pandaung since it extended its offensive into Bago in January 2025 and has established a base in Nyaungkyo village, which it seized in March 2025.

AA-led resistance forces in Ngape Township, Magway Region, have surrounded the regime’s Natyaykan Air Defence Base since October, residents told DVB.

Regime forces have launched indiscriminate airstrikes and artillery strikes into nearby villages to protect the regime’s counteroffensive column on its way to defend the Natyaykan base from falling to the AA.

Ngape is located 48 miles (77 km) west of the region’s capital Magway and 79 miles (127 km) northeast of Ann, Arakan State. It hosts DDI 14, which reportedly manufactures air-defence missiles.

The AA has captured all regime outposts in Gokkyi and Suntat villages, which serve as guard posts for the Natyaykan base since the AA offensive expanded to Magway in January 2025. AA-led attacks into neighboring Bago, Magway and Ayeyarwady regions began in December 2024.