Arakan Army takes control of another town in Rakhine

The insurgent group Arkan Army (AA) has taken control of Rathedaung town in Myanmar's Rakhine state.

The rebel group drove out the remaining troops of the three junta battalions stationed in Rathedong and captured the town, the Irrawaddy reported on Monday (March 18).

Arkan Army said the junta is using the Rohingyas, who have joined the force under conscription law, as human shields to defend the strongholds.

The junta’s military also bombed the area by land, sea and air in a failed attempt to prevent the AA from taking over the town.

In a statement, AA said it seized three separate infantry headquarters – from light infantry battalions 536, 537 and 538 – outside the town on Sunday evening after two weeks of intense fighting, with the last 200 junta troops fleeing the riverside town north of the state capital Sittwe by boat.