(MENAFN- Asia Times)
Myanmar's war-ravaged Rakhine state faces a humanitarian catastrophe just as the insurgent Arakan army (AA) looks set to take almost complete control of the area from the border with Bangladesh down to the Irrawaddy Delta after a year of brutal armed conflict.
The anti-military AA is currently besieging the central town of Ann, home to the Myanmar military's Western Command, and is still engaged in furious fighting in Maungdaw to overrun Border Guard Police Camp 5 , the final installation after months of grinding street battles and destructive drone warfare.
The coup-installed State Administration Council (SAC) military junta has been dropping reinforcements and supplies into both areas by parachute and helicopter, prolonging the fighting.
The AA has seized more than ten townships in several months of brutal fighting. The state capital, Sittwe, is effectively surrounded, forcing thousands of inhabitants to flee south to Yangon by ship.
The seaport and airport are still functioning, but land routes are reportedly closed. SAC security forces are fortifying the city in anticipation of an imminent AA assault. Recent photos emerging from Sittwe show deserted streets; a longstanding internet blackout frustrates a full picture of the situation inside the city.
This may well be an unprecedented insurgent victory in the history of armed conflict in Myanmar, but it has come at a terrible human cost, the impacts of which will be felt for years to come.
The year-long offensive has increased the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to over half a million, including ethnic Rakhine, Rohingya Muslims and smaller groups such as the Mro, Daignet and Hindus, which are often ignored but are suffering just as profoundly.
The highly restricted environment has hobbled the international humanitarian assistance operation, which is failing to meet the urgent need for food, shelter and medication.
The conflict-induced displacement comes after the devastation of Cyclone Mocha in May 2023, which pummeled infrastructure and housing, particularly in Sittwe, and destroyed 85% of existing IDP camps.
A late October United Nations assessment demonstrates the limitations of the aid efforts over the past year. In Sittwe, only 10,634 of 76,090 IDPs received some aid, or were“reached”, as the aid industry jargon goes.
Furious fighting and mass arson during the battle for Buthidaung from April to May left 85,223 people displaced, with only 27,839 reached, according to the UN assessment. An estimated 150,000 civilians displaced in Rathedaung, Ponnagyun and Pauktaw have received no assistance.
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