Arakan Army

Origin

The Arakan Army was founded on 10 April 2009 along with its political wing, the United League of Arakan (ULA), in what it describes as its "temporary headquarters" in Laiza, Kachin State. According to Twan Mrat Naing, he and other founders of AA previously thought about joining either the Arakan Liberation Army or the National United Party of Arakan, but found these groups weakened. After a stint in India where they were left dissatisfied after "petty issues" from the leaders of the Arakan National Congress, they first established links with the Karen National Liberation Army and observed the KIA in 2006. The first batch of recruits for what would become AA was authorized in 2008.

Following training, the group planned to return to Arakan State and fight for self-determination; however, with the outbreak of fighting in Kachin State in June 2011, they were unable to. As a result, they took up arms against the Myanmar Army in support of the KIA. In 2014, the AA started a settlement in Rakhine State near the border with Bangladesh, and another near the border of Thai-Myanmar with which it has become much stronger and its combat abilities have been positively impacted.

In February 2015, the AA fought alongside the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), an ethnic armed group, and its ally the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) in their conflict with the Myanmar Army. Hundreds of the Tatmadaw's soldiers were reportedly killed in this conflict. Later in 2015 they became active against the government of Myanmar, in the Arakan region. On 20 August 2015, the Arakan Army clashed with a group of Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB), after ten of their horses were confiscated by the BGB earlier that day.

Naming

On 10 April 2024, AA announced it was changing its name from Rakhain Tatdaw (Rakhine: ရက္ခိုင့်တပ်တော်) to Arakha Tatdaw (Rakhine: အရက္ခတပ်တော်). Spokesperson U Khaing Thu Kha, claimed "Arakha" represents everyone living in Rakhine State, regardless of background. Even though they claim to be diverse, activists have brought forth evidence of war crimes against Rohingyas following this announcement. However, AA continues to use the name "Arakan Army" on its English website.

Objectives

The Arakan Army claims that they stand for self-determination for the multi-ethnic Arakanese population as well as the safeguarding and promotion of the national identity and cultural heritage of the Arakan people. It aims to establish an "Arakan Nation" through the "Way of Rakhita". In an interview with the Arakha Media (AKK) conducted in August 2021, the Commander-in-chief of the Arakan Army stated that the political objective of the armed revolution is to restore the sovereignty of the Arakan, and there had been no bargaining in the attempt to regain the lost sovereignty and there would not be in the future either.

General Twan Mrat Naing has declared that the AA aims to clear the Myanmar military from Rakhine State. His goal is to establish a confederate region where the Rakhine people have the right to self-determination and to shape their own destiny.

On 10 April 2024, the Arakan Army rebranded its Arakanese name from "Rakhine Army" (Rakhine: ရက္ခိုင့်တပ်တော်) to "Arakan Army" (Rakhine: အာရက္ခတပ်တော်) to represent all people of Rakhine State.

Deployment

Most AA soldiers were originally trained at the KIA Military Academy. Since 2014, the AA has set up its own training camps in Rakhine State. According to the Myanmar Peace Monitor, the AA had more than 1,500 troops in 2014, including personnel stationed in the Rakhine State near Myanmar's border with Bangladesh. The Irrawaddy stated in September 2015 that the AA had more than 2,500 troops and 10,000 personnel in their civilian wing. In June 2020, the AA chief claimed that the group has more than 20,000 soldiers. In a December 2021 interview, Twan Mrat Naing claimed that the AA had grown to 30,000 troops.

Although the AA was initially trained by the KIA, it later aligned itself more with the United Wa State Army (UWSA) through the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee. In 2020, India accused China of assisting rebel groups, including the UWSA and AA, by supplying weapons and providing hideouts within Indian territory. AA has received Chinese-made weapons, such as surface-to-surface missiles used during an attack on the Myanmar Navy in 2019.

According to The Irrawaddy report, the Arakan Army is relatively independent and less reliant on China compared to other ethnic armed groups. The Arakan Army also grew its influent providing support ranging from training to ammunition to at least 23 armed groups, mostly in the regions bordering Rakhine state.

Arakan Army enforces conscription for all residents over 18 in Rakhine state. Men (18–45) will train for two months and serve two years, while women (18–35) must also serve. According to AA representatives, non-Arakanese groups such as the Bamar and Rohingya are officially exempt from conscription, but individuals can join voluntarily. Arakan Army troops reportedly includes members of other ethnic groups beyond from Myanmar with Bangladeshi citizens from Chakma, Marma, and Tanchangya community.

Weaponry

Arms

Anti-Aircraft System

Armed conflict

Early clashes (2015–2018)

In April 2015, the AA clashed with the Myanmar Army in Kyauktaw Township of Rakhine State and Paletwa Township of Chin State.

On 14 July 2015, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) rescued two Myanmar soldiers who had been captured by the Arakan Army.

On 25 August 2015, a BGB patrol seized ten horses from members of the Arakan Army, who were using the animals to transport supplies. Later that day, at 09:30 am local time, the Arakan Army fired on a ten-member BGB team patrolling in the Baramadak area near the Sangu River and the village of Boro Modok in Thanchi, Bangladesh. The exchange of gunfire lasted five hours. Nayek Jakir Hossain of the Barakadam BOP was wounded during the gunfight. He was rescued from the area and was sent to the Combined Military Hospital in Chittagong via helicopter. The Arakan Army lost two horses during the skirmish. According to locals sources, eight to twenty Arakan Army members were wounded. The BGB declared a state of emergency at the Bangladesh–Myanmar border in response to the incident and sent one BGB unit, two Bangladesh Army units, and one F-7 of the Bangladesh Air Force as reinforcements to the area to conduct a coordinated operation against the Arakan Army. Upon request from the Bangladeshi government, the Myanmar government sealed off their side of the border. Bangladeshi forces later arrested a Burmese citizen and accomplice of the Arakan Army, Ong Owong Rakhain, in Rajasthali Upazila. He had Arakan Army uniforms, laptops, digital cameras, motorcycles and two horses in his possession. Two more people were arrested in the following days.

In December 2015, the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army engaged in several days of fighting around 60 kilometres (37 mi) north of Sittwe at the border between Kyauktaw and Mrauk U townships. An unknown number of military personnel were killed in the fighting. Several Tatmadaw personnel, including one commanding officer, were killed in sniper attacks. Many others were injured.

Following clashes between Rohingya insurgents and Burmese security forces in northern Rakhine State in October 2016, the Arakan Army released a press statement calling the perpetrators (the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army) "savage Bengali Muslim terrorists" and the violence a "rampage of the Bengali Islamic fundamentalist militants in northern Arakan."

2019–2020 war with the Tatmadaw

On 4 January 2019, around 300 members of the Arakan Army launched pre-dawn attacks on four border police outposts—Kyaung Taung, Nga Myin Taw, Ka Htee La and Kone Myint—in northern Buthidaung Township. Thirteen members of the Border Guard Police (BGP) were killed and nine others were injured, whilst 40 firearms and more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition were taken by the Arakan Army. The Arakan Army later stated that it had captured nine BGP personnel and five civilians, and that three of its fighters were also killed in the attacks. Following the attacks, the Office of the President of Myanmar held a high-level meeting on national security in the capital Naypyidaw on 7 January 2019, and instructed the Defense Ministry to increase troop deployments in the areas that were attacked and to use aircraft if necessary.

Myanmar Army soldiers from the 22nd Light Infantry Division, elements of the 66th and 99th Light Infantry Divisions, and battalions from the Western Command of the Tatmadaw were reportedly involved in the subsequent military offensive against the Arakan Army. Clashes were reported in Maungdaw, Buthidaung, Kyauktaw, Rathedaung and Ponnagyun Townships, located in the northern and central parts of Rakhine State. The Rakhine State government issued a notice blocking non-governmental organisations and UN agencies, except for the International Committee of the Red Cross and the World Food Programme, from travelling to rural areas in these townships affected by the conflict. The fighting prompted 5,000 civilians to flee from their homes and to take shelter in monasteries and communal areas across the region, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Civilian casualties, arbitrary detention of ethnic Rakhine villagers, and military blockage of food aid and medical relief were also reported.

On 9 March 2019, around 60 AA insurgents launched an evening attack on Yoe-ta-yoke Police Station. According to a leaked combat report, nine policemen were killed, two were injured, and a dozen weapons, including 10 BA-63 battle rifles, were stolen by the attackers. On the same day, AA insurgents managed to conquer the front line commanding post of Rakhine State's Gwa Township-based No. 563 Light Infantry Battalion under the supervision of Light Infantry Division No. 5. According to a press release by the Arakan Army, 11 personnel, including four military engineers, were captured and 16 backhoe excavators, a car, a dump truck, and 60 mm and 80 mm mortars were confiscated. In April, around 200 AA insurgents attacked the No. 31 Police Security Unit at 10 p.m. The Tatmadaw retaliated with fighter jets, bombing AA positions until 6 a.m. the next day.

Myanmar civil war (2021–present)

After the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état both the military junta and government-in-exile withdrew its designation of the AA as a terrorist group. The State Administration Council (SAC) withdrew its designation on 11 March 2021, while the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) announced a few days later that it was rescinding its terrorist designation for all insurgent groups. Nevertheless, on 30 March, the AA threatened to end the ceasefire with the Tatmadaw should the SAC refuse to order a halt to the massacre of civilians protesting the coup. On 10 April 2021, the AA alongside its allies, TNLA and MNDAA, launched an attack on a police station south of Lashio in Shan State, killing at least 14 police officers and burning the station to the ground.

Between June and August 2022, the informal ceasefire in late 2020 between the Arakan Army and the junta broke down. With the military's attention on the increasing resistance elsewhere and increasing popular support to partner with the Nation Unity Government (NUG), AA began to seek an expansion of its influence into southern Rakhine. Rhetoric from AA leader Twan Mrat Naing in June grew more provocative with military spokespeople stating that the AA was inviting conflict.

Armed clashes resumed in July after the junta launched an airstrike against an AA base in Kayin State, killing 6 AA soldiers. AA retaliated in Maungdaw Township 12 days later killing four and capturing fourteen junta soldiers. Armed clashes broke out in northern Rakhine and western Chin State in late July and early August, including in the city of Paletwa, Chin State. By late August, travel to northern Rakhine required notifying series of checkpoints and all public transport ships ceased operating. Both the AA and the junta placed blockaded and strict prior notice for all travelers attempting to cross river and land blockades. The renewed war was markedly different as the junta had significantly less morale and the AA was now part of a popular de facto alliance with NUG-led resistance forces.

On 26 November 2022, the Arakan Army and the junta agreed to a temporary ceasefire beginning on the following day. It was brokered by Yōhei Sasakawa of the Nippon Foundation who acted as an intermediary. AA spokseman Khaing Thu Kha stated that they agreed to it for humanitarian reasons and not because of international pressure. The group did not withdraw from fortifications held at the time of the ceasefire. A junta official told The Irrawaddy that it was the first step towards a permanent ceasefire. As of mid-December, tensions remained high with forces from both sides remaining in deployment within northern Rakhine State.

Governance

The AA established its political wing, the ULA, in 2016. After gaining most of the territories in Rakhine State, it has developed a formal administrative structure in the state known as the Arakan People’s Revolutionary Government. Major decisions are made by five top leaders who hold positions within AA. The AA developed public service like justice system and judicial services. The ULA/AA also operates hospitals, clinics and educational institutions. It has also created the Humanitarian and Development Coordination Office (HDCO) in 2022.

War crimes and atrocities

The Arakan Army (AA) has been accused of forcibly recruiting ethnic minorities in Rakhine state into its organisational structure and claiming to create an inclusive, federalist government to counter the Tatmadaw in Rakhine. Reports allege atrocities being carried out by the AA and the use of Rohingya people as cannon fodder and human shields. Other reports allege that the junta had been exploiting tensions between the Arakanese and Rohingya by forcefully recruiting Rohingya people to be used as human shields and cannon fodders. AA spokesperson Khaing Thu Kha stated that the allegations were part of a smear campaign, citing the evidence presented showing that AA were striking junta targets. In February 2019, the armed group, alongside with four other groups, was banned on Facebook by Meta which classified them as a "dangerous organization".

Analyst David Scott Mathieson noted that conflicting accounts of incidents have caused confusion among international observers, which is exacerbated by the SAC's recruitment of Rohingya men into its military. He stated that "multiple realities can exist at the same time: that AA forces can perpetrate atrocities at one location whilst also aiding civilians elsewhere. But observers shouldn't lose sight of the fact that the Myanmar Armed Forces are committing crimes just like this across Myanmar against multiple communities." Political analyst Paul Greening expressed a similar analysis that some AA members committed war crimes but that there was a lack of systematic intent to destroy the Rohingya as an ethnic group.

In January 2026, the British Government has stated concerns regarding risks of persecution of Rohingya minority by the Arakan Army. The Burma Campaign UK has also called the British government to impose sanctions on the AA.

Fortify Rights, an international human rights organization, documented atrocities committed by AA in 2024 through survivor testimonies, open-source videos, and photographs and called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the AA's actions as potential war crimes. The organisation's report described how the evidence revealed the deliberate nature of the attacks, including the use of surveillance drones before launching offensives.

Atrocities against Rohingyas

Between 4 and 6 February 2024, the Arakan Army launched attacks on Rakhine BGP outposts in Maungdaw Township, later alleging without providing evidence that the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army and Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO) fought alongside the Rakhine BGP. The RSO denounced AA's accusations and the AA labeling them as "Bengalis" among other issues. Later in February when the junta began conscripting largely non-citizen displaced Rohingyas living in Kyaukphyu, AA spokesman, Khaing Thu Kha, called upon young Rohingya men fleeing conscription to seek refuge in their territory. The AA denied regime claims of targeting Rohingya for recruitment encouraging anyone regardless of ethnicity or religion to volunteer.

AA has also been accused of targeted strikes against Rohingya civilians, particularly in a series of attacks in early August 2024 along the Myanmar-Bangladesh border when over a hundred Rohingya were killed. Witnesses reporting the intentional targeting of civilians with drones and artillery.

On 18 May 2024, when Arakan Army captured Buthidaung, Rohingya activists accused the Arakan Army of burning and targeting Rohingya homes in the town, a claim which the Arakan Army denied.

On 5 and 6 August 2024, AA forces launched attacks along the Myanmar-Bangladesh border, targeting thousands of fleeing Rohingya civilians. According to eyewitnesses and survivors, these assaults resulted in over a hundred deaths, including women and children, and countless injuries as they sought refuge in Bangladesh. According to Rohingya news organization Kaladan Press, witnesses reported the intentional targeting of civilians using drones and heavy artillery. RSO fighters were seen gathering in the area, with armed men seen running with the civilians.

Between March and August 2024, activist Nay San Lwin reported to The New Humanitarian that at least 2,500 Rohingya were killed, and approximately 40,000 were forced to flee the country by the Arakan Army.

On 29 August 2024, CNN reported that, based on eyewitness accounts that they could not independently verify, Rohingya refugees had experienced persecution from the Arakan Army in recent months during the group's Rakhine State offensive against the Myanmar military. Numerous Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar camp expressed to CNN the sentiment that the "AA wants to wipe out Rohingyas from Rakhine State".

Other atrocities

The Committee to Protect Journalists called on the AA to release Border News Agency correspondent, Ma Mudra, after she was accosted by AA on 20 September 2025 while working on a story covering the lack of educational opportunities in ethnic Mro areas of Maungdaw. Khaing Thu Kha claimed that she broke the rules of conflict and was being interrogated for security reasons. The Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB) has further accused the AA of internal crises and abuses against other ethnic minorities such as the Mro and Tanchangya people, driving some victims to flee to Bangladesh.

Fortify Rights, a human rights NGO, released a report claiming that the AA was subjecting Hindu, Kamein, Mro and Chakma individuals to forced labor and conscription. AA rebutted the accusations as lacking specific evidence and containing "baseless [allegations by] religious extremists". In an 2 March 2026 interview with Rajeev Bhattacharyya for The Diplomat, Twan Mrat Naing dismissed allegations of human rights violations against minorities by AA as "accusations [that benefit the narratives of particular groups, especially diaspora activists, who weaponize human rights]," and defended conscription as a "necessary [emergency measure]."

International affairs

Bangladesh

In a 2021 interview with Prothom Alo, army chief Twan Mrat Naing said the organization wanted to have good relations with Bangladesh and work with them on the Rohingya issue.

The Arakan Army has also stated that nearly 11 militant groups, including the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO), Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), and Arakan Rohingya Army (ARA), operate from Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, carrying out killings, rapes, kidnappings, and torture against the Buddhists and Hindu population on Myanmar-Bangladesh border. The towns most vulnerable and impacted are Maungdaw and Buthidaung. According to the reports, it is alleged that groups like the RSO have ties to Al-Qaeda which exploits the local Muslim population as human shields to fight against the non-Muslim population. The Arakan Army further accused Bangladesh of ignoring the growth of such groups within its borders.

In February 2025, Khalilur Rahman, the chief adviser's high representative on the Rohingya issue, said Bangladesh is in contact with the Arakan Army to protect its border and support Rohingya repatriation, despite objections from the Burmese military junta. He also called the AA to include Rohingyas in, what he described, the "new administration" of Arakan. According to the international analysts, Bangladesh was negotiating with AA for a respectable return for Rohingyas to their homeland; and if any compromise is arrived, they were considering to open the borders with Rakhaine State under United Nations' supervision. The proposal of a "humanitarian corridor" for Rakhaine State was endorsed by Md. Touhid Hossain, then-Adviser of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, however, this proposal faced heavy opposition from various Bangladeshi political parties across the spectrum, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Jamaat-e-Islami, National Citizen Party, and the Communist Party of Bangladesh. Rohingya leaders worldwide called Bangladeshi government to act cautiously regarding the AA.

In the following month, Home Affairs Adviser Jahangir Alam stated that Bangladeshi traders have to now pay taxes twice when importing goods from Myanmar, first to its government at Sittwe and then to the Arakan Army at the Naf River border.

In April 2025, Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar condemned the Arakan Army's armed intrusion and celebration of Sangrai festival in Bandarban's Thanchi Upazila, calling it a serious violation of Bangladesh's sovereignty. He criticized the government's silence and demanded strong action against the group's activities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region.

China

Due to the economic interests in Rakhine State, China has maintained pragmatic ties with the Arakan Army. By 2022, reports have indicated that China has provided substantial support with an estimation of approximately 95% of the group's weaponry funding. However, since 2025, AA has become relevantly less dependent on China.

The AA has expressed large support for Chinese investments in Rakhine State, welcoming the country to engage in mutually beneficial projects. The AA has also issued statements in Mandarin alongside Burmese and English. By April 2026, Chinese delegations are scheduled for talks with Arakan Army over Belt and Road Initiative railway project.

India

The Arakan Army has targeted India's Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project but not China's projects in the region, leading some to accuse China of diplo-terrorism. However, in February 2024, the Arakan Army stated that it would not prevent the completion of the project. An AA spokesperson express support for the project and that they hoped to improve relations and provide mutual support. In March 2024, an Indian delegation, including Member of Parliament K. Vanlalvena, met with AA representatives in Myanmar's Chin State.

AA-India relations have improved significantly since mid-2024, with Indian lawmakers visiting Rakhine to meet AA leaders and discuss regional project security. On the same month, Mizoram CM Lalduhoma showed interest in friendly relations with the AA and Chin armed groups by expressing hope that Chin, Mizo and Kuki peoples living in Myanmar, India and Bangladesh may one day be united under a single administration.

The Indian government has been engaging with the Arakan Army indirectly through the Mizoram government. It is known that the AA has established a representative office in Mizoram. Since the capture of Kyauktaw Township in 2024, the Mizoram State Government and the AA have negotiated agreements to allow the import of goods into Rakhine via Mizoram.

Arrests

In July 2019, the Myanmar Police, in cooperation with the government of Singapore, arrested AA leader Twan Mrat Naing's younger brother, Aung Mrat Kyaw, along with others who were accused of financially supporting the AA. In September, his younger sister and brother-in-law were also detained by Myanmar Police when they returned to Myanmar from Thailand.

On 6 December, Twan Mrat Naing's wife Hnin Zar Phyu and their two children were detained by Thai immigration officials in Chiang Mai. Officials arrested her due to the presence of her name on the list of people affiliated with the Arakan Army, provided by the Myanmar Government. On 25 February 2020, the detained family left for Switzerland under the political asylum initiated by the UNHCR.