Arakan Army pushes Myanmar's military to brink in monsoon war

BANGKOK -- The Arakan Army (AA), an armed ethnic group in Myanmar, is taking advantage of the monsoon rains sweeping across the country to intensify its offensive against the military regime's troops in Rakhine state, located along the country's western coast and bordering Bangladesh.

The AA attributes its tightening its grip on the muddy, rugged terrain, following battle plans using both guerilla tactics typically favored by rebel armies and conventional military operations -- as it targets long-held military outposts, border camps and heavily fortified operational commands that have been pivotal for the military regime to assert its authority.