Top Myanmar Junta General Killed as AA Closes in on Key Port

AA desk

A top Myanmar junta general has been killed near the strategic port town of Kyaukphyu, as the Arakan Army (AA) intensifies its assault on the Chinese-backed investment hub in western Rakhine State.

Brigadier General Kyaw Myo Aung, a senior strategist with the army’s Division 11, was reportedly shot dead on Monday by AA snipers along with a fellow officer. His body was flown to Yangon the following day and buried with military honours on Thursday, according to funeral notices shared online.

The general’s death marks a major blow to the military regime, which is struggling to hold ground in a fast-shrinking area of control. The AA has reportedly seized multiple junta positions near Pyaing Si Kay village, just 5km south of Kyaukphyu, with battles raging around key police and military installations.

Fighting has also flared close to China’s oil and gas terminals, part of Beijing’s multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative. The port in Kyaukphyu links China’s Yunnan province to the Indian Ocean and is considered a strategic priority for Beijing.

According to local reports, Chinese private security contractors are now directly assisting junta forces, including through drone operations. The Irrawaddy, which first reported the developments, could not independently verify these claims.

This comes after Myanmar’s regime passed a law in February allowing foreign armed security firms to operate domestically. Chinese personnel have since been deployed to safeguard infrastructure around the port.

Regime administrators are reportedly fleeing the area as the fighting intensifies, with the military resorting to airstrikes, naval support, and ground reinforcements to defend the port.

The AA, which began its offensive in November 2023, claims to have taken control of 14 out of 17 townships in Rakhine State, as well as the neighbouring Paletwa Township in Chin State. It now has its sights set on the state capital, Sittwe.

Civilians have borne the brunt of the military’s response, with airstrikes on towns under AA control resulting in numerous casualties, even as the conflict continues to spill into central Myanmar.

-2025-05-31