Burma-Myanmar: Army kills 13 Arakan Army (AA) rebels in Rakhine State
Myanmar’s army has killed 13 rebel fighters in the western Rakhine State, a military spokesman said yesterday, as government troops battle to contain a new insurgency in the troubled region.
Fighting between security forces and the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group seeking greater autonomy for Rakhine, has forced some 5,000 civilians to flee their homes since early December, according to the United Nations.
The violence has brought fresh turmoil to the region, the site of a massive crackdown on the Rohingya Muslim minority in 2017, and represents another setback for the Buddhist-majority country’s embattled peace process.
“Between January 5 and 16, 2019, there were eight clashes and five landmine explosions,” said Major General Tun Tun Nyi, speaking at a rare press conference in the capital, Naypyitaw.