Ethnic armed group claims capture of a strategic Myanmar town and control of border with Bangladesh

BANGKOK (AP) — One of the most powerful ethnic minority armed groups battling Myanmar’s army claims it has captured the last military outpost in a strategic western town, gaining full control of the border with Bangladesh. The capture of Maungdaw by the Arakan Army makes the group’s control of the northern part of Rakhine state complete and marks another advance in its bid for self-rule there. Rakhine has also become a focal point for Myanmar’s civil war, in which pro-democracy guerrillas and ethnic minority armed forces seeking autonomy battle the military that took power in 2021 after the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.