Bangkok, Jan 15 (EFE).- The Arakan Army claims to have taken control of Paletwa, a key city in Myanmar on the border with India and Bangladesh, marking another setback for the military government in a battle against rebels across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The rebel group released several photographs depicting its fighters in front of government buildings in the port city, situated just 18 kilometers from the Bangladesh border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you don’t want to die or get injured, raise a white flag,\u201d Arakan leader Twan Mrat Naing urged the army soldiers who might still be in hiding in the area after the town’s fall on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The capture of Paletwa, a vital trade hub with neighboring India and Bangladesh, comes just days after the rebel group and its two allied guerrilla outfits agreed to a regional ceasefire with the Myanmar army on Friday in the northeastern state of Shan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Ta’ang National Liberation Army, another guerrilla group in the alliance, has accused the army of violating the ceasefire twice since Friday in Shan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The rebel trio, known as the Brotherhood Alliance, launched a joint offensive, code-named ‘Operation 1027,’ against the army on Oct. 27 in northeastern Myanmar that spread across the country within weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These offensives, later joined by pro-democratic forces of the self-proclaimed National Unity Government (NUG) and other rebel groups, are said to be the most significant threat to the junta’s rule since the military coup in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The anti-junta alliance claims to have gained control of over 25 cities from the army in different areas of the country, including Laukkai, the capital of the strategic Kokang region bordering China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The conflict, which has spread to nearly two-thirds of the country, has displaced over half a million people, according to the United Nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Experts suggest that the Myanmar military is facing unexpected setbacks since the 2021 coup, which ended a decade of democratic transition by overthrowing the elected government led by the now-imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The military coup has plunged the country into a deep political, social, and economic crisis, triggering a spiral of violence, particularly with the emergence of new pro-democracy forces joining hands with ethnic minority militias, exacerbating the country\u2019s decades-long ethnic conflicts. EFE <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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