Heavy Fighting Erupts in Mon State Laymyethna as Junta Launches Offensive to Recapture Arakan Army-Controlled Territory

Military regime troops conduct military exercises in Ayeyarwady Region in 2018. Photo: Office of the Commander in Chief of Defence Services

Myanmar military junta forces have launched a multi-township ground offensive against positions held by the Arakan Army (AA) and allied resistance forces in Laymyethna Township, Ayeyarwady Region, resulting in the extrajudicial killing of a local civilian, according to residents and military sources.

Junta columns have been conducting aggressive military operations across Pandawgyi, Setsetyo, and Yonsel villages since early September. On September 21, regime troops arrested and executed 21-year-old Ko Kyaw Thet Oo near Pandawgyi Village as he returned from purchasing medicine for his mother in neighboring Setsetyo Village.

"The military column marched toward Pandawgyi and shot him dead on their return," a local resident told DMG. "The regime is desperately attempting to recapture territory controlled by revolutionary forces."

Resistance forces led by the Arakan Army currently control strategic sections of the major Pathein–Monywa Highway in Laymyethna Township. To retake these transport corridors, the junta deployed combined units from Light Infantry Division 66 (LID 66), the Southwestern Command, and junta-backed Pyu Saw Htee militias across Laymyethna, Yekyi, and Thabaung townships.

Ground operations across all three townships are being heavily reinforced by daily air raids and artillery barrages.

"The regime is mounting ground offensives backed by continuous airstrikes to penetrate Rakhine (Arakan) State through Ayeyarwady Region and regain lost territory," a military source said. "Clashes occur daily."

The offensive in Ayeyarwady Region is part of a broader multi-front push by the junta to push into Rakhine State via Bago Region, Magway Region, and Chin State, while simultaneously attempting to relieve pressure along the central Sittwe front.

The Arakan Army and its anti-regime allies expanded military operations into Ayeyarwady Region in 2025. By mid-2026, revolutionary forces had captured multiple hilltop outposts in Yekyi Township and currently maintain control over at least 10 military camps across four townships in Ayeyarwady Region.