Arakan Army Maintains Sittwe Siege — 48 Junta Troops Desert as AA Tightens Cordon

Through March 31, the Arakan Army continued its siege operations around Sittwe, with fighters positioned approximately 2 km from the city center following the assault on Shwe Min Gan Naval Base on March 23. The remaining junta garrison consisted of approximately 2,000 infantry and 1,000 naval troops backed by 7 warships and 10 battalions — but morale was deteriorating sharply. Mizzima reported that approximately 48 junta soldiers and police deserted their Sittwe positions as the AA tightened its cordon, including members of elite commando units. Simultaneous AA pressure on Kyaukphyu Township — site of China's strategic CMEC deep-sea port megaproject — and Ngape Township maintained multi-axis pressure on the junta's last Rakhine holdouts. The junta responded with airstrikes and naval shelling as its primary remaining countermeasure.