Arakan Army (Kachin State)

Arakan Army
ရက္ခိုင့်တပ်မတော်
Participant in the Internal conflict in Myanmar
Emblem of the Arakan Army
Emblem of the Arakan Army
Active 10 April 2009 (2009-04-10) – present
Ideology Arakanese nationalism
Separatism
Leaders Twan Mrat Naing[1]
Nyo Twan Awng
Headquarters Laiza, Kachin State (temporary)
Area of operations Chin State,
Kachin State,
Rakhine State,
Shan State,
Bangladesh–Myanmar border
Size 1,500[2]–2,000+[3]
Part of United League of Arakan[4]
Allies

Northern Alliance[5]

Other allies

Opponents

State opponents

Non-state opponents

Battles and wars

Internal conflict in Myanmar

Website www.ula.today

The Arakan Army (Burmese: ရက္ခိုင့်တပ်မတော်; abbreviated AA) is a Rakhine insurgent group in Myanmar (Burma), founded on 10 April 2009.[1] It is the armed wing of the United League of Arakan (ULA), and is currently led Major General Twan Mrat Naing. The purpose of the AA, as stated by its second-in-command Nyo Twan Awng, is to "protect our Arakan people, and to establish peace, justice, freedom and development."

The AA is a participant in the Kachin conflict, fighting alongside the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) against the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Armed Forces). Most AA soldiers were originally trained at the KIA Military Academy; however, the AA has additional training camps in Rakhine State. According to the Myanmar Peace Monitor, the AA had more than 1,500 troops in 2014,[2] including personnel stationed in the Rakhine State near Myanmar's border with Bangladesh.[6][7][8] The Irrawaddy has stated that, as of September 2015, the AA has 2,500 troops and 10,000 supporters.[9]

History

The Arakan Army (AA) 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.[10] The group has stated that it advocates for:

  • self-determination for the multi-ethnic Arakanese population
  • the safeguarding and promotion of the national identity and cultural heritage of the Arakan people
  • the "national dignity" and best interests of the Arakan people

Following training, the group had 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 return. 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 (home land) 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, AA fought alongside the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), an ethnic armed group, and its ally the Taang National Libration Army (TNLA) in their conflict with the Myanmar Army.[11] Hundreds of armed men from the Myanmar troops were reportedly killed in this conflict.

In April 2015, the AA clashed with the Burmese Army in areas of Kyauktaw and Paletwa townships in the northern Rakkhaing state.[12] On 27 August 2015, there was a clash between the AA and the Bangladesh border guard forces, with both sides opening fire near the Boro Modak area of Thanci in the Bandaran district, near the shared Burma-Bangladesh border.[13]

On 20 August 2015, the Arakan Army clashed with a Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) patrol after ten of their horses had been confiscated by the BGB earlier that day.[14]

In December 2015, the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army engaged in several days of fighting, around 60 kilometres (40 miles) north of Sittwe at the border between Kyauktaw and Mrauk U townships. An unknown number of military personnel were killed in the fighting.[15] Several Tatmadaw personnel, including one commanding officer, were killed in sniper attacks. Many others were injured.[16]

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."[4]

According to the BBC, there is popular support for the Arakan Army in Mrauk U and a number of men from the region have recently joined the group.[17]

In November 2017, the group was involved in heavy clashes with the Tatmadaw in Chin State, in which 11 Tatmadaw soldiers were killed.[18]

References

  1. 1 2 "About AA". Arakan Army. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  2. 1 2 Administrator. "Armed ethnic groups". mmpeacemonitor.org. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  3. ↑ "'I Want to Stress That We Are Not the Enemy'". Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Mathieson, David Scott (11 June 2017). "Shadowy rebels extend Myanmar's wars". Asia Times. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  5. ↑ Lynn, Kyaw Ye. "Curfew imposed after clashes near Myanmar-China border". Anadolu Agency. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  6. ↑ Diplomat, Richard Potter, The. "Myanmar: New Front in an Old War". Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  7. ↑ "Far From Home, Arakan Rebels Fight on Kachin Frontline". Irrawaddy.org. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  8. ↑ "Arakan Army Calls for Calm After Bangladesh Border Clash". Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  9. ↑ "'I Want to Stress That We Are Not the Enemy'". Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  10. ↑ Administrator. "AA (Kachin Region)". www.mmpeacemonitor.org. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  11. ↑ Times, The Myanmar. "Ethnic allies join Kokang fight". www.mmtimes.com. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  12. ↑ "Refugees From Ruined Village Say Myanmar Army Trapped Them". Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  13. ↑ "Arakan Army Calls for Calm After Bangladesh Border Clash". Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  14. ↑ "Arakan Army attack Border Guard Bangladesh patrol".
  15. ↑ Thu, Mratt Kyaw. "Rakhine refugees await return after Arakan Army clashes". Frontier Myanmar. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
  16. ↑ Holmes, Oliver (2016-01-08). "Myanmar army clashes with ethnic Rakhine rebels". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
  17. ↑ Head, Jonathan (8 February 2018). "Hatred and despair in an ancient kingdom". BBC News. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  18. ↑ "Tatmadaw Troops Killed and Wounded in Arakan Army Ambush". The Irrawaddy. 9 November 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
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