AA retakes border security camp seized by ARSA

By Admin 23 Sep 2025

DMG Newsroom

23 September 2025, Maungdaw

The Arakan Army (AA) has recaptured a border security camp in northern Maungdaw Township near the Arakan-Bangladesh border, which had been seized by the Muslim armed group ARSA (Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army), according to military sources.

The camp, located near Inn Chaung Village close to the frontier, was attacked and seized by ARSA on September 20. The group occupied the camp for two days before AA launched a counterattack and retook it on September 22.

"AA has regained control of the camp and is continuing clearance operations for border security. The people shown in the trenches in ARSA's video files were not AA troops but likely civilians detained by ARSA," said a military source close to the AA.

Clashes have been ongoing along the border since September 16, when ARSA began infiltrating from across the frontier to attack AA security posts.

On September 22, ARSA also claimed in a statement that it had seized an AA border security camp near Inn Chaung Village.

Political observers in Arakan say ARSA's attacks on the AA - a key player in the fight against Myanmar's military junta - amount to stabbing the resistance in the back, thereby weakening the struggle against military dictatorship.

"This is meant to weaken those fighting against the junta, making it harder for the dictatorship to collapse. While pretending to call for coexistence between Muslims and Arakanese people, ARSA is in fact fighting alongside the junta instead of confronting the common enemy. This will go down in history as one of the darkest acts of betrayal," said a veteran Arakanese politician.

AA Commander-in-Chief Major General Twan Mrat Naing said in an interview with The Irrawaddy on September 20 that Bangladeshi military officers were also encouraging Muslim armed groups to launch cross-border attacks in northern Maungdaw.

Currently, with ARSA activities and ongoing clashes in northern Maungdaw, local residents have been forced to abandon their livelihoods, while trade and commerce in the area have ground to a halt.

On September 19, the AA announced that it would step up security along the Arakan-Bangladesh border due to increasing activities of Muslim armed groups.