Arakan Army

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from Twan Mrat Naing)
Jump to: navigation, search
Arakan Army
ရက္ခိုင့်တပ်မတော်
Leader(s) Twan Mrat Naing
Dates of operation April 10, 2009 (2009-04-10)-present
Active region(s) Kachin Independence Army controlled areas,
Kachin State,
Rakhine State
Ideology Self-determination for the Arakanese people
Website thearakanarmy.com

The Arakan Army (Burmese: ရက္ခိုင့်တပ်မတော်; abbreviated AA) is an Arakanese rebel organization formed on 10 April 2009.[1] The group is led by Twan Mrat Naing, their current commander in chief. Nyo Twan Awng, the organization's second in command, stated that the organization’s purpose is to "protect our Arakan people, and to establish peace, justice, freedom, and development."

Their organization was fighting in the Kachin Conflict alongside the Kachin Independence Army against the Myanmar Armed Forces. Most of its soldiers were trained at KIA Military Academy Train Centre, but since 2014, Arakan Army have started its training camps divided into three places - Kachin State Camp, Karen State Camp and Rakhaing State Camp. According to the Myanmar Peace Monitor, the Arakan Amy had more than 1,500 troops in 2014[2] and already based in Rakhine State border Bangladesh.[3][4][5] The Irrawaddyy magazine mentioned it has 2,500 troops and claims to have 10,000 supporters.[6]

History[edit]

The Arakan Army (AA) was founded on 10 April 2009 in what it describes as its temporary headquarters in Laiza, Kachin State. The Arakanese armed group emerged for [7]

  • self-determination for the multi-ethnicrakanese population
  • safeguard national identity and cultural heritage and promote
  • national dignity and Arakanese interests.

The group, after training, had originally 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, AA has settled down in Rakhine State (home land) bordering Bangladesh and as well as the Thai-Myanmar Border, Arakan Amry has become much stronger and more battle conditioned. In February 2015, AA joined in Kokang Offensive where Kokang ethnic armed group, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) had heavily fought against Myanmar Army, hundreds of which troops were reportedly killed in the battle. TNLA and Arakan Army helped MNDAA as their alliance to confront the Myanmar army.[8] In April 2015, AA had clashed with Burmese Army in areas of Kyauktaw and Palatewa Township, northern Rakkhaing state.[9] 27 August 2015, there was a clash between AA and Bangladesh border guard forces, with both sides opening fire near the Boro Modak area of Thanci in Bandaran District, near the shared Burma-Bangladesh border[10]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "About AA". Arakan Army. Retrieved 24 June 2015. 
  2. ^ Administrator. "Armed ethnic groups". mmpeacemonitor.org. Retrieved 2015-08-31. 
  3. ^ Diplomat, Richard Potter, The. "Myanmar: New Front in an Old War". Retrieved 2015-08-31. 
  4. ^ "Far From Home, Arakan Rebels Fight on Kachin Frontline". Irrawaddy.org. Retrieved 2014-05-05. 
  5. ^ "Arakan Army Calls for Calm After Bangladesh Border Clash". Retrieved 2015-08-31. 
  6. ^ "‘I Want to Stress That We Are Not the Enemy’". Retrieved 2015-09-28. 
  7. ^ Administrator. "AA (Kachin Region)". www.mmpeacemonitor.org. Retrieved 2015-09-28. 
  8. ^ Times, The Myanmar. "Ethnic allies join Kokang fight". www.mmtimes.com. Retrieved 2015-09-28. 
  9. ^ "Refugees From Ruined Village Say Myanmar Army Trapped Them". Retrieved 2015-09-28. 
  10. ^ "Arakan Army Calls for Calm After Bangladesh Border Clash". Retrieved 2015-09-09. 

External links[edit]