Arakan Army (Kachin State)

Arakan Army
ရက္ခိုင့်တပ်မတော် Participant in the Internal conflict in Myanmar
Logo of the Arakan Army
Active	10 April 2009 (2009-04-10)–present
Ideology	Rakhine nationalism
Leaders	Twan Mrat Naing Nyo Twan Awng
Headquarters	Laiza, Kachin State (temporary)
Area of operations	Kachin State, Rakhine State, Shan State, Myanmar-Bangladesh border
Strength	1,500–2,000+
Allies	Northern Alliance Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army Ta’ang National Liberation Army Other allies Kachin Independence Army
Opponents	Myanmar Tatmadaw  Bangladesh Border Guards Bangladesh
Battles and wars	Internal conflict in Myanmar Kachin conflict 2015 Kokang offensive 2015 Bangladesh–Arakan Army border clash
Website	www.thearakanarmy.com

Northern Alliance

Other allies

 Myanmar

 Bangladesh

Internal conflict in Myanmar

The Arakan Army (Burmese: ရက္ခိုင့်တပ်မတော်; abbreviated AA) is a Rakhine insurgent group in Myanmar (Burma), founded on 10 April 2009. The group is currently led by its commander in chief, 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, including personnel stationed in the Rakhine State near Myanmar's border with Bangladesh.The Irrawaddy has stated that, as of September 2015, the AA has 2,500 troops and 10,000 supporters.