The Arakan Army (AA) announced on Wednesday (December 11) its successful capture of a key junta base in Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, near the Bangladesh border. Among those detained during the operation was the notorious Brigadier General Thurein Tun, commander of the regime’s Military Operations Command (MOC) 15.
The ethnic armed group launched its attack on Border Guard Police Battalion No. 5, the last remaining junta stronghold in Maungdaw Township, on October 14. The heavily fortified base housed over 700 regime personnel, including soldiers, police officers, and Rohingya militias from the Arakan Rohingya Army (ARA), Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), and Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO).
After 55 days of intense fighting, which included junta airstrikes, the AA seized the base on Sunday. The group reported that over 450 regime forces were killed in the battle, while approximately 80 Rohingya insurgents and other troops, including Brig-Gen Thurein Tun, were captured. The AA also secured a large cache of weapons and ammunition.
Desperate Pleas for Rescue
Hours before the base fell, regime soldiers trapped inside posted a video on social media, pleading with Myanmar’s military leadership for evacuation. The soldiers revealed they had been stranded at the base for three months with no rescue plans and accused Brig-Gen Thurein Tun of abandoning them.
Known for his role in brutal crackdowns, Thurein Tun was responsible for training and arming Rohingya militias in northern Rakhine State. He gained infamy for overseeing the violent suppression of peaceful anti-coup protests in Mandalay following the military coup in 2021 and for the alleged torture of detainees at an interrogation center in Mandalay Palace.
Former Army Captain Zin Yaw, who defected after the 2021 coup, described the captured general as both ruthlessly obedient to his superiors and harsh toward his subordinates. According to Zin Yaw, Thurein Tun had ordered his bodyguards to execute any regime troops attempting to flee or surrender during the battle, while concealing the dire situation from higher-ranking officials.
A Strategic Victory for the AA
With the fall of Maungdaw, the AA has secured complete control over Myanmar’s 270-kilometer border with Bangladesh, marking a significant strategic and symbolic victory. Photos released by the AA show captured junta soldiers, including Brig-Gen Thurein Tun, alongside the seized weapons and ammunition.
This defeat further consolidates the AA’s dominance in Rakhine State. Since launching its expansion into the region in November last year, the ethnic armed group has taken control of 12 of the state’s 17 townships, as well as Paletwa Township in neighboring Chin State.
The AA is part of the Brotherhood Alliance, a coalition of ethnic armed organizations that began Operation 1027 in October 2022. The alliance has also captured significant territory in northern Shan State, including its capital Lashio.
The junta has yet to issue a statement regarding the loss of Maungdaw, one of its most significant military defeats in recent years.
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