The fight for Sittwe, capital of Myanmar’s Rakhine State, is fast becoming one of the most pivotal battles since the 2021 coup, according to a new analysis by the International Crisis Group (ICG).

The Arakan Army (AA) has seized most of Rakhine over the past two years and is now pressing hard on Sittwe, one of the military’s last major strongholds in the region. The city’s importance is outsized: it hosts military headquarters, naval facilities and sits at the end of China-backed oil and gas pipelines running from the Bay of Bengal to Yunnan.

ICG’s report notes that junta forces have heavily fortified the city, concentrating troops, artillery and naval assets, while relying on air power and maritime supply routes to hold their ground. The AA, meanwhile, has expanded operations in surrounding townships, aiming to cut off reinforcements and isolate the city.

The battle reflects a wider shift in Myanmar’s civil war, with ethnic armed groups and resistance allies moving from guerrilla tactics to coordinated assaults on fixed military positions. For the junta, retaining Sittwe would preserve both symbolic and operational control in Rakhine. For the AA, capturing it would cement dominance and strengthen its hand in any future political settlement.

The region is already scarred by years of conflict, displacement and communal tensions, making the stakes even higher. Analysts warn that the outcome could redefine control of western Myanmar and mark one of the military’s most serious territorial setbacks since the coup.

As clashes intensify, the struggle for Sittwe is shaping up as a crucial test of whether Myanmar’s military can still hold key regional capitals against increasingly organised resistance forces.

-2026-04-19

Not only does the incredibly corrupt and criminal army of Burma deserve to lose, but they deserve to lose badly, they deserve to be humiliated, they deserve to be punished severely, and they deserve a pox on their entire extended family.

Let us hope the Burmese people prevail against these charlatans.