As ethnic armed group claims to have captured a town in western Myanmar, Muslim Rohingyas flee again

By GRANT PECK
Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — A powerful ethnic armed group fighting Myanmar’s military government in the country’s western state of Rakhine is claiming to have seized a town near the Bangladesh border, marking the latest victory for foes of the country’s military government. The state’s Muslim Rohingyas, targets of deadly army-directed violence in 2017, appear to have been the main victims of fighting in the town of Buthidaung, where the Arakan Army claims to have chased out forces of the military government. Information about the situation could not be verified independently, with access to the internet and mobile phone services in the area mostly cut off. The Arakan Army is the military wing of the Rakhine ethnic movement, which seeks autonomy from Myanmar’s central government.