Local news sources and onlookers say that large quantities of weapons and munitions are being transported from the Magway region to Ann township, Rakhine State, where the SAC’s Western Regional Military Headquarters is located.
It is confirmed that up to 30 military vehicles along the Magway-Ann highwayhave been loaded with weapons and ammunition during the third week of this month and are being delivered to all the battalions and strategic camps in the Western Regional Military Headquarters.
“They are being transported in large military vehicles along the road from the mainland. They are not coming separately, but they are being transported between passenger vehicles and trucks,” a watching witness told the MPA.
Sources in the region said that the weapons and ammunition were transported to the Western Regional Military Headquarters, and through that, they were being supplied to the forward camps of the SAC in Ann Township, including the Kazukaing strategic camp.
The resurgent fighting between the SAC and the Arakan Army (AA) ended in a temporary ceasefire last November 26 due to the intervention of Mr. Sasakawa, the chairman of the Nippon Foundation from Japan and the special representative of the Japanese government for Myanmar’s national reconciliation.
The Arakan Army (AA) has officially announced the ceasefire as a Humanitarian Pause and has released video files showing that it is helping local Rakhine farmers’ monsoon crop harvest.
Rakhine people and Rakhine military observers say that since last November 27, the SAC has been supplying the soldiers with weapons and food supplies with landing crafts, large navy ships, military helicopters, and large military vehicles, and also, they built new military bases, and new military exercises are being conducted.
Rakhine military observers say that such activities of the SAC do not follow the bilateral agreements and military discipline, and are the behavior of military giants calling for battle.
“The military’s reinforcements, construction of new bases, the establishment of heavy weapons camps, and military exercises are the behavior of military giants. This is not following bilateral agreements and military discipline. In other words, they are calling the AA to battle,” a Rakhine-based military observer told the MPA.
The Arakan Army (AA) has officially stated that the sustainability of the Arakan ceasefire depends on the SAC’s actions and speeches.
Reliable sources also say that during the temporary ceasefire in Rakhine, the SAC has firmly built a new naval base on the Kyauktaw-Palatwa waterway and is conducting inspection activities with landing crafts.
In addition, in North Maungdaw, camps have been firmly rebuilt, heavy weapons have been set up, and hundreds of forces have been prepared to fight, according to credible sources.
During the resurgent Rakhine battle, the AA managed to attack and capture nearly 30 military bases, including the SAC’s base camps, and the SAC responded strongly to joint military, naval, and air operations, including heavy weapons and aerial support.