On 13 November 2023, the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic resistance group active in the civil war in Myanmar, launched a military offensive against Myanmar's military junta in Rakhine and southern Chin State. Fighting began alongside the launch of Operation 1027, in which the Arakan Army participated as a member of the Three Brotherhood Alliance. The offensive broke an informal ceasefire between the Arakan Army and the junta that had been in place for a year. During the offensive, the Arakan Army captured several towns in northern Rakhine, including Mrauk U, the capital of Mrauk-U District and the historical capital of Arakan. These gains gave them total control over most of northern Arakan. The Arakan Army followed these successes by besieging Sittwe, the state capital, and Ann, the headquarters of the junta's western command. They also launched offensives in the southern parts of the state, capturing several towns and throwing junta forces into disarray. Since 2025, the Arakan Army has expanded its offensive to Bago, Magway, and Ayeyarwady, threatening junta ordnance factories along the Irrawaddy River. The International Institute for Strategic Studies reported that the Arakan Army's sweeping gains "are already enough to enable self-rule over a large portion of the Rakhine homeland and to reshape the wider balance of power in Myanmar." According to the Diplomat, the AA's offensive could lead to Rakhine State becoming the "Myanmar’s first truly autonomous region".
Background
The Arakan Army (AA) and its civilian wing, the United League of Arakan, were founded in 2009 and quickly became one of Myanmar's strongest rebel groups. By 2018, they had gained territory in northern Rakhine State and Paletwa Township in southern Chin State and fought the Tatmadaw in late 2018 after the central government entered their territory. The fighting intensified until the Arakan Army announced a unilateral ceasefire in November 2020 to facilitate voting in the 2020 general election.
After the civil war resurged in 2021, the Arakan Army focused more on expanding their administrative capabilities. However, over the 2022 monsoon season, the ceasefire broke down. With the military's attention diverted to the growing resistance elsewhere and rising popular support for an alliance with the NUG, the AA sought to expand its influence into southern Rakhine.
On 26 November 2022, the Arakan Army and the junta agreed to a temporary ceasefire brokered by Yōhei Sasakawa of the Nippon Foundation. Arakan Army spokespeople maintained that they agreed to the ceasefire for humanitarian reasons, not because of international pressure. The Arakan Army did not withdraw from fortifications held at the time of the ceasefire.
After Operation 1027 began, Tatmadaw incompetence and the rapid gains of the Three Brotherhood Alliance inspired many previously disconnected resistance groups to work towards unity to overthrow the Tatmadaw, which came to power after a coup in 2021.
Timeline
Offensive begins On the morning of 13 November 2023, the Arakan Army (AA) attacked two Border Guard Police stations in Rathedaung Township, breaking the Rakhine State Ceasefire Agreement between the junta and the Arakan Army. Dong Paik camp was captured by 6:30 am. On 14 November, the junta had already abandoned around 40 outposts in Rakhine state after attacks by the Arakan Army, but few came under their immediate control. Dozens of Myanmar security officers surrendered to the Arakan Army the following day.
The following night, the Arakan Army launched an attack on Pauktaw, seizing the township police station. By the next morning, the Arakan Army had taken control of the town. The junta sent two helicopter gunships alongside naval support to fire back, including at civilian housing, with heavy machine gun fire. Pauktaw's proximity to the Rakhine state capital, Sittwe, posed a threat to the junta. Junta forces detained about 100 residents who were unable to flee, and positioned themselves to surround the town, using two navy ships to blockade the harbour.
On 14 November, the Arakan Army launched an offensive in Paletwa Township on the Chin-Rakhine border. The Arakan Army accused the Tatmadaw of using chemical weapons during the ensuing battles. On 6 December, the Arakan Army announced that they had captured a major military base in the township.
On 8 January 2024, the Arakan Army continued the offensive and captured the Taung Shey Taung base and its 200 junta soldiers in Kyauktaw Township, Rakhine State. They then escalated their offensive into Paletwa Township, Chin State with the aim of capturing Paletwa, a strategic town for the Indo-Myanmar Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project On 15 January, the Arakan Army seized Paletwa and the entire township, declaring it a "military council-free area." A week later, the Arakan Army captured the town of Pauktaw in Rakhine State concluding a three-month battle.
On 17 January 2024, the Taingen camp on the Falam road to the Indian border was captured, with Chin resistance forces seizing arms and ammunition. On 20 January 2024, after more than 600 junta soldiers and refugees crossed the India–Myanmar border, the Government of India announced a plan to fence the entire border.
Fall of Mrauk U
The Arakan Army captured most remaining Tatmadaw bases in Minbya by 6 February, almost taking full control of the township. On the same day, the Arakan Army seized the Taung Pyo junta outpost along the border with Bangladesh in Maungdaw Township. The Arakan Army captured Kyauktaw the next day and continued fighting in Mrauk U and Ramree.
On February 7, the Arakan Army took control of Minbya Township after capturing the last two military battalion headquarters in the township. Colonel Min Min Tun, commander of the 11th Light Infantry Division of the Tatmadaw, was killed during a battle at the base of the 377th Light Infantry Battalion in Mrauk-U Township.
The Tatmadaw abandoned Myebon to reinforce Kyaukphyu on 9 February, leaving ammunition behind in their rush and abandoning the southern township of Mrauk-U District. The same day, the AA took the city of Mrauk U, completing their control over the township. Three Myanmar Navy landing craft, carrying 700–900 retreating junta soldiers, were sunk during the battle. The survivors of the sinking were reportedly shot at and attacked with knives by villagers and soldiers, which a spokesperson for the Arkhan Army denied. In response to the seizure of the three towns, the junta blew up bridges in Kyauktaw Township and the state capital, Sittwe.
Consolidation of Mrauk U District During an evacuation attempt by the junta from Kyauktaw town during attacks by the Arakan Army on the same day, three naval landing craft were sunk. This resulted in the death of 700–900 retreating junta soldiers and their family members. According to a statement from the Arakan Army, the rebels rescued Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun, commander of the 9th Military Operations Command, and some of his soldiers from the river.
The Arakan Army announced on 30 January that it was fighting to oust the junta from the coastal city of Ramree in Rakhine State. The junta had reportedly bombarded the town from gunboats for weeks before fighting began. 8,000 of the town's residents had been displaced due to the fighting. The AA claimed that the regime forces used chemical weapons to defend the town, a claim that the junta denied.
On 15 February, the Arakan Army captured Myebon and started intensifying their assaults on Ramree. These assaults killed around 80 junta reinforcements between 24 and 26 February. On 28 February, the Arakan Army captured the final junta outpost in Minbya Township, taking full control of the township.
Continued northern offensives
On 5 March, the Arakan Army reportedly captured the town of Ponnagyun and its surrounding township. During the battle, junta warships and fighter jets shelled the town, eventually destroying the Zay Ti Pyin bridge connecting Ponnagyun to Rathedaung. The Arakan Army stated that it continued assaults on Rathedaung and Buthidaung Townships. The capture of Ponnagyun is significant as it is only 33 kilometres northeast of the regional capital, Sittwe, and allows the Arakan Army to threaten the city. Tatmadaw tactical commander Colonel Myo Min Ko Ko and Major Saw Htwe were killed in Ponnagyung.
On 12 March, after an 85-day battle, the Arakan Army captured the town of Ramree. In Maungdaw Township, AA also captured a border outpost forcing 179 junta soldiers to flee into neighboring Bangladesh. On 17 March, the Arakan Army captured the town of Rathedaung, cutting off Sittwe from northern Rakhine State. The AA claimed that the junta used forcibly conscripted Rohingya people as human shields during its unsuccessful defense of the town.
On 15 April, the Arakan Army and the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) clashed in Buthidaung Township, killing 25 Rohingyas. A local reported that the Tatmadaw and ARSA fought together during the clashes. The Arakan Army announced on 18 May that it had taken complete control of Buthidaung, capturing the last junta positions in the area. The Arakan Army said that clashes continued with junta forces and armed Rohingya groups outside the town. Twelve Rohingya civilians were reportedly killed in a junta airstrike on 17 May, and that same day the Arakan Army allegedly bombed a school with drones where Rohingya civilians were sheltering, killing 18 and wounding around 200. Following Buthidaung's fall, large portions of the town and outlying villages were systematically burned to the ground. Witnesses and international organizations accused the Arakan Army of engaging in retaliatory arson against Rohingya people, ordering them out of their homes before burning them to the ground. The Arakan Army denied any involvement with the attack, blaming the fires on junta shelling during the course of the battle.
On 3 May, the Arakan Army captured the headquarters of the Border Guard Police in Maungdaw Township at Kyee Kan Pyin. The Arakan Army began launching attacks on Maungdaw town on 21 May. The next day, the AA claimed the capture of the No. 2 Border Guard Police Detachment near the entrance to the city.
On 5 August 2024, the Arakan Army attacked Rohingya civilians in Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State killing 221. According to the Rohingya news group, Kaladan Press, the attack was possibly triggered by a large gathering of RSO fighters near the massacre area. Then, AA attacked the area indiscriminately. Unravelling the Maungdaw Exodus: new report sheds light on factors driving large-scale Rohingya displacement in Maungdaw December 17, 2024.
As of November 2024, the Arakan Army controls most of Maungdaw town, with junta holdouts remaining in the No. 5 Border Guard Police Detachment, the final SAC outpost in the township. On 5 October, it was reported that the junta accidentally killed twenty of its own soldiers in an airstrike that struck the detachment. The Arakan Army also continued to clash with the ARSA and RSO in Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships. On December 8, AA captured BGP 5, removing the junta's control of Maungdaw Township and the Bangladeshi border.AA Takes Complete Control of Myanmar-Bangladesh Border After Seizing Maungdaw The Irrawaddy. December 9, 2024.
Central and southern Rakhine offensives On 16 February, following clashes with the Arakan Army, junta forces abandoned the town of Ma Ei, destroying a bridge leading to the town as they left. Arakan Army forces occupied the town soon after and began landmine clearance operations.