Armed group in western Myanmar claims to have captured regional army HQ

Members of the Arakan Army in front of a captured district police office in Ann township, Rakhine state, Myanmar, in November (The Arakan Army via AP)

A powerful ethnic armed group in western Myanmar claimed on Friday to have scored a major victory in the war against the ruling military, as neighbouring nations at a meeting in Thailand were discussing efforts to end the conflict peacefully.

The capture by the Arakan Army of a strategically important regional army headquarters in Rakhine state would put it a step closer to seizing control of the entire state, a goal not achieved by any of the several other rebel groups in other parts of Myanmar.