Myanmar armed group claims control of port town

Fighters from a Myanmar ethnic minority armed group have seized control of a port town after more than two months of intense clashes with junta troops, they said.

The Arakan Army (AA) said late Wednesday it "completely controlled" Pauktaw, a town of 20,000 people close to a deepwater port in the capital of western Rakhine state.

AA fighters briefly seized Pauktaw in November, shattering a fragile ceasefire that had largely held since the military's coup in 2021.

The junta has used artillery and naval ships to bombard the town almost daily since, and strafed it with gunfire from helicopters, residents have told AFP.

New Google Earth images of Pauktaw showed a block of the downtown area reduced almost entirely to rubble and damage to several buildings near its harbour.