Ethnic group captures strategic Myanmar town

A group of ethnic minority fighters stand on a captured tank. File Pic/AP

One of the most powerful ethnic minority armed groups battling Myanmar's army has claimed the capture of the last army outpost in the strategic western town of Maungdaw, gaining full control of the 271-km-long border with Bangladesh. The capture by the Arakan Army makes the group's control of the northern part of Rakhine state complete, and marks another advance in its bid for self-rule there.

Rakhine has become a focal point for Myanmar's nationwide civil war. Khaing Thukha, a spokesperson for the Arakan Army, said that his group had seized the last remaining military outpost in Maungdaw on Sunday. "Outpost commander Brig. Gen. Thurein Tun was captured while attempting to flee the battle," Khaing Thukha said.

The situation in Maungdaw could not be confirmed, with access to the internet and mobile phone services in the area mostly cut off. Maungdaw, about 400 km southwest of Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city, has been the target of an Arakan Army offensive since June.

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