The Rakhine conflict may escalate due to three factors

Sittwe: The Rakhine conflict may escalate further due to three factors, said the Three Brotherhood Alliance. The forum in a statement issued at 11:15 pm  on 21 January elaborated those factors.

 1. Operation 1027, launched by the Three Brotherhood Alliance in northern Shan State, was abruptly halted under a specific arrangement.

2. Soldiers, who fled to India during the conflicts in the Paletwa region, were repatriated to Rakhine State and forced to rejoin the gun fighting against the anti-junta fighters.

3. The  junta has been continuously reinforcing soldiers with weapons & ammunition in the Rakhine region using large warships through the waterways.

Even though Operation 1027 was abruptly halted the clashes between the Arakan Army (AA), a member of the alliance, and the junta forces continue in several areas.

So the combined operation has virtually shifted from northern Shan State to another location. Despite joint attacks from the junta's army, navy and air force personnel, the AA fighters are strategically conducting defensive and also counter-offensive actions. Hence, the intensity of the conflict has increased day by day in the Rakhine region.

Most of the 400 junta soldiers, who fled to India during the conflict in the Paletwa region,  have now been taken back to participate in the gun fighting in the Rakhine region. Moreover, with the junta's ongoing reinforcement of soldiers with weapons in the region using large warships, one can anticipate the escalation in conflicts in the upcoming days.