Military junta government, losing in Rakhine, negotiates with less powerful ALP for military assistance

AYEYARWADDY TIMES July 28 The interim government, which has lost nearly the entire region in Rakhine State and is suffering heavy losses, has negotiated with the less powerful, ceasefire group Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) to gain military assistance, it is known. The National Unity and Peace Restoration Coordination Committee (NSPNC) of the interim government invited the group led by Daw Saw Myar Raza Linn from the ALP, which had previously signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), and met on July 27, the previous day. As military clashes intensify daily in the Rakhine region, military observers point out that the interim government, which is losing militarily, is trying to strengthen cooperation by inviting the ALP, which has almost no strength among the ceasefire groups, under the pretext of peace. It has been released that during the meeting, the interim government discussed cooperation with them, avoiding actions that would damage mutual trust, and for the ALP to assist local troops in one way or another. Daw Saw Myar Raza Linn, Chairman of the ALP, who is interacting with the interim government while ignoring the junta's atrocities, said that this meeting was to discuss how the public can live under a peaceful umbrella. Although it is said that discussions were held to provide food, clothing, and humanitarian assistance to the people in Sittwe city and Ayeyarwaddy Region, the interim government continues to impose blockades and arrests on the ground. It is learned from local residents that ALP troops are also participating alongside the interim government troops who are intensifying military operations in Rakhine State, and are being used as reinforcements in large numbers to the fronts facing the Arakan Army (AA). Although the interim government troops are reinforcing and fighting, they are facing attrition to the point of being annihilated, and in the battles near Taungma U Ye Tat and Awtaw village in Kyaukpyu Township, they have suffered losses to the point of being routed. Photo – Interim Government