The Bangladesh security establishment is keeping a close eye on the military movements of the Myanmar junta forces even as it noticed on October 24 a reconnaissance aircraft of the border country’s air force over Maungdaw township in Rakhine State where armed Rohingya insurgents have been targeting the Arakan Army for nearly a month now.
An official Bangladeshi report accessed Northeast News said that around 10 pm on October 24, a reconnaissance plane that took off from a Myanmar Air Force base in Naypidaw, undertook aerial “monitoring” of Arakan Army hideouts and “current positions” within an estimated 120-km radius across southern, northern and central areas of Maungdaw township.
This indicates that the Myanmar military junta will likely continue with its attacks on the Arakan Army which has also been defending against regular armed depredations by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO) in Maungdaw township which, besides Buthidaung, is a major Rohingya-populated area in the Rakhine State.
The ARSA and RSO’s sudden stepping up of armed raids into the Rakhine State indicates a change in tactics as far as the Rohingya insurgents, backed by the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) and sections of the Bangladesh Army, are concerned.
The Arakan Army’s response so far to the Rohingya insurgents has been defensive in nature even as there are reports of lack of access to sources of weapons. In line with this defensive posture, the Arakan Army plans to reinforce border security, especially in swathe of territory opposite Naikhongchhari, and along the Naf River.
The Rakhine State-based outfit, however, also seeks to strengthen security in Maungdaw and Buthidaung.
As a part of its efforts to bolster security along the Myanmar-Bangladesh border, the Arakan Army, sources said, is prepared to spend on advanced weaponry, surveillance systems, night vision gear and military logistics equipment that will be helpful in tracking down ARSA and RSO insurgents.
However, Bangladeshi security sources said that the ARSA and RSO’s attacks, even if they have so far been able to kill only civilians, is a means to apply pressure on the Arakan Army to achieve two objectives: the first is to try and push the Arakan Army to agree to the repatriation of Rohingya refugees from Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh to Maungdaw and Buthidaung. And the second could be to force the Arakan Army’s hands to agree to conditions by other external agencies.
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On the other hand, Myanmar media reports indicate that junta force’s reinforcement of its positions in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State, and build-up outside the Arakan Army-controlled Ponnagyun township signals the likelihood of a fresh military assault in that area. Ponnagyun fell to the Arakan Army in March 2024.
The Arakan Army’s political front, the United League of Arakan, had said in a statement on October 15 that fresh fighting had erupted in Sittwe where India is building a port.
There are reports that junta soldiers have repaired a vital bridge on the Sittwe-Ponnagyun road and have built bunkers along this stretch.
While drones have been deployed and artillery is being used to push out the Arakan Army, the junta forces are in control of the Min Chaung bridge between Sittwe and Ponnagyun townships, which was blown up in February 2024.
