Arakan Army (Kayin State)

Not to be confused with the Arakan Army based in Rakhine State.

The Arakan Army (Kayin State) (Burmese: ရခိုင့်တပ်တော်) is a Rakhine insurgent group based in Kayin State, Myanmar.^[1]

Arakan Army
ရခိုင့်တပ်တော်
Dates of operation	2010 (2010) – present
Headquarters	Mobile headquarters
Active regions	Kayin State; Rakhine State
Ideology	Rakhine nationalism
Size	350+[1]
Part of	Arakan National Council, United Nationalities Federal Council
Allies	DKBA-5[2] People's Defence Force[3][4]
Opponents	Myanmar Tatmadaw Union of Myanmar (until 2011)
Battles and wars	Internal conflict in Myanmar Myanmar civil war (2021–present)

On 23 June 2020, Thai authorities raided a house in the border town of Mae Sot (close to Kayin State), seizing a large stash of newly manufactured weapons originating from China. Local insurgents on the Burmese side of the border told The Irrawaddy that the weapons were likely being smuggled for the Arakan Army because "they pay good prices".^[5]

Objectives

The Arakan Army's self-proclaimed objectives are as follows:

1. To gain the right to self-determination for the ethnic groups of Rakhine State.
2. To safeguard the national identity and cultural heritage of the Rakhine people.
3. To promote the national dignity and interests of the Rakhine people.
4. To liberate every citizen and ethnic group of Myanmar from the Burmese dictatorship.
5. To ensure peace and development for all of humanity.