Neither Side in Full Control of Rakhine’s Ngapyi Island as Clashes Intensify
Fierce fighting continues on Ngapyi Island in Rakhine State’s Pauktaw Township, with neither the Myanmar junta nor the Arakan Army (AA) able to secure complete control of the strategic territory, local and frontline sources said.
Heavy clashes escalated between November 2 and 4, resulting in significant casualties on both sides. The regime deployed two amphibious assault columns—comprising troops from Light Infantry Division 44 and other retreated troops regrouped in the state capital, Sittwe—backed by naval artillery and airstrikes.
Despite landing an initial assault force of around 200 soldiers when the offensive began on October 7, the junta has faced fierce resistance. AA forces have established ambushes along the island’s shorelines and inland waterways, pinning down landing columns and capturing several prisoners of war alongside weapons.
"We still can't say for sure which side has the upper hand," an AA frontline source told Network Media Group. "The junta uses its naval advantage to deliver daily reinforcements, while the AA's beach ambushes have made it extremely difficult for regime troops to advance."
The island campaign has also impacted nearby Sittwe, where junta authorities have intensified forced recruitment of civilians and deployed state-level auxiliary police to the front lines. Numerous local police personnel have reportedly been killed in the fighting.
Following an October 26 engagement in which the AA damaged two regime naval vessels, the military has increasingly relied on heavy airstrikes to support its amphibious operations.
Concurrently, the AA is advancing offensives against junta positions west of the Kalanda River in Ponnagyun Township, as well as several villages on the outskirts of Sittwe.
Comments