Arakan Army Firms Up Relocation Plan For Villages on Bangladesh-Myanmar Border

The Arakan Army, or AA, is an armed organization with a political wing called the United League of Arakan. It controls Maungdaw district in Rakhine State and Paletwa district in Chin State. This control matters because both districts touch the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, giving the AA responsibility for territory where security remains contested.

The AA captured parts of Rakhine State from the Myanmar military. The article says it took control of Maungdaw despite military cooperation with Rohingya rebel groups, including ARSA and the Rohingya Solidarity Organization. The AA now faces attacks from both the military and ARSA in some areas.

Its control is therefore incomplete, especially along remote border villages. The AA says it wants better security arrangements and plans to move some residents into better-connected areas. Fierce fighting near Sittwe and renewed military operations could further test its hold over Rakhine State.

The planned relocation targets selected villages along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, especially remote and scattered communities in Maungdaw district. Many of these villages are inhabited by the Buddhist Mro community. The AA says the main reason is security, because isolation makes it harder to protect residents and monitor threats.

Residents would move to different parts of Maungdaw district. The new locations would be connected by roads and rivers, allowing stronger security arrangements and easier oversight. The AA chief said the goal is to end the villages’ isolation, but he did not identify the communities or give a completion deadline.

The plan comes as the AA struggles to establish absolute control along the border. ARSA operates in northern Maungdaw and has attacked non-Rohingya residents. The relocation could therefore concentrate vulnerable communities, but the article gives no final map, schedule, or number of people involved.

The Bangladesh-Myanmar border is 271 kilometres long. Its riverine section covers 64 kilometres, with the Naf River forming the boundary. On Myanmar’s side, the border runs through Maungdaw in Rakhine State and Paletwa in Chin State, next to Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar.

The article says more than 100 villages currently exist along the border. Most are inhabited by non-Rohingya communities, including Rakhine Buddhists, Mro, Khami, and Chakma. It also says Rohingya Muslims make up more than 90 percent of Maungdaw’s population, but it does not provide a headcount for the border villages.

That missing population figure limits any precise estimate of people at risk. The villages face insecurity from ARSA, while the AA is fighting the Myanmar military. The article identifies the scale of the territory and settlements, but not how many residents could be affected by attacks or relocation.

If ARSA attacks increase, residents could face more abductions, killings, injuries, and displacement. The article already reports that ARSA has attacked non-Rohingya villagers and forced some people to cross into Bangladesh during wider violence. Remote communities would be especially exposed because they are scattered and difficult to monitor.

Travel could become riskier or less reliable. People might avoid roads, rivers, or mountain routes, while security operations could restrict movement. The article does not directly report shortages of food or medical care. However, when violence isolates villages, reaching markets, clinics, or emergency help becomes harder; this is a general consequence of insecurity, not a documented outcome in this article.

The AA is considering relocation to places connected by roads and rivers. That plan is meant to improve protection and oversight. Its urgency may grow if ARSA expands operations while the Myanmar military continues fighting the AA in Rakhine State.

ARSA, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, is a Rohingya Muslim militant group. The Rohingya Solidarity Organization, or RSO, is described as a Rohingya rebel outfit. The article gives less detail about the RSO’s organization, but it places both groups among forces opposing the AA in northern Rakhine State.

ARSA seeks to carve out a distinct region for the Rohingya community. It has support in Rohingya villages in northern Maungdaw and mounts intermittent operations against the AA and non-Rohingya residents. The groups’ conflict with the AA is therefore linked to rival armed and territorial projects in the same region.

In late 2023, the Myanmar military joined with ARSA and the RSO to slow the AA’s campaign to capture Maungdaw. The AA ultimately took the town, but fighting pushed more Rohingya and rebel members into Bangladesh. The article says ARSA may receive more weapons as the military offensive continues.

In 2016 and 2017, ARSA attacked police and military outposts in northern Rakhine State. The Myanmar military responded with clearance operations. The article says thousands of Rohingya were killed, many settlements were destroyed, and more than 700,000 people were displaced into refugee camps in Bangladesh.

This history reshaped the border’s population and security landscape. Villages that had existed before 2017 ceased to exist, according to observers. The current border therefore contains more than 100 villages, mostly inhabited by non-Rohingya communities, while northern Rakhine still has Rohingya villages where ARSA retains support.

The displacement also left armed and political disputes unresolved. ARSA continues fighting the AA, and the military later cooperated with ARSA and the RSO against the AA. More violence has pushed additional Rohingya and rebel members into Bangladesh, keeping the border central to the conflict.

Armed groups seek borderland control because it helps them hold territory, protect communities, and monitor movement. In this case, the AA wants control of the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, while ARSA seeks a distinct Rohingya region in northern Rakhine State. Control is difficult because the border contains isolated villages, a river boundary, and several competing communities.

Geography shapes that struggle. The Naf River forms 64 kilometres of the border. The Mayu mountains cross Buthidaung, Maungdaw, and Rathedaung, and ARSA members use the area. Roads and rivers can improve security and access, which is why the AA plans to move some villages toward better-connected places.

Cross-border movement also matters. Earlier violence drove more than 700,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh, and recent fighting pushed more people and rebel members across the boundary. The AA faces military attacks in Rakhine State and possible ARSA attacks along the border, creating pressure on its control from several directions.