ARSA and AA clash along Maungdaw border

By Admin 04 Oct 2025

DMG Newsroom

4 October 2025, Maungdaw

Heavy clashes have broken out between the Arakan Army (AA) and the Muslim armed group ARSA (Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army) in northern Maungdaw Township, near the Bangladesh border, according to local residents.

The fighting has been reported around border posts 53, 54, 55, 56 and 57. ARSA fighters are said to be launching attacks while taking cover on the Bangladeshi side of the border, targeting AA units carrying out security operations.

“The clashes are still ongoing today. The Muslim militants are using the Bangladesh border as cover to launch attacks, while the AA is conducting clearance operations for border security,” said a resident from the border area.

He added that skirmishes continued today, with AA forces pressing ahead with clearance operations along the frontier.

On 1 October, the AA announced that ARSA had infiltrated from Bangladeshi territory using multiple routes to attack its border security camps, including Point 601 Camp and the Don Nyo Camp between border posts 56 and 57, in an attempt to seize them.

Residents also reported hearing gunfire near Kyi Kyun, close to the Naf River along the Bangladesh border, on the morning of 3 October.

“Yesterday morning, we heard gunfire from the Kyi Kyun area near Nanthataung. The shooting went on for about half an hour. We don’t yet know the details of the clash. We only heard it from the Bangladesh side across the river,” another resident said.

DMG reached out to AA spokesperson U Khaing Thukha for comment on the latest Maungdaw border clashes, but had not received a reply at the time of writing.

Observers say ARSA has taken advantage of the AA’s ongoing offensive against the junta in Kyaukphyu and Sittwe townships to launch surprise attacks from the rear along the border.

“Muslim armed groups are trying to exploit the AA’s focus on battles in Kyaukphyu and Sittwe by attempting to carve out positions along the frontier. But the AA will not tolerate such attacks and will surely move to crush them,” said a military analyst monitoring the conflict in Arakan.

As a result, the Maungdaw border area remains highly unstable, with the AA expected to continue prioritizing border security.

AA commander-in-chief Major General Twan Mrat Naing recently told The Irrawaddy in an interview that some Bangladeshi border security officers are providing behind-the-scenes support to Muslim armed groups.

Last year, ARSA and other Muslim fighters collaborated with the Myanmar military during the battles for control of Maungdaw and Buthidaung, resisting the AA’s offensive operations. 

Following the AA’s capture of both towns, ARSA retreated into Bangladeshi territory, but has since carried out repeated ambushes against traders and local residents along the border, including abductions and killings.

The AA has urged civilians to exercise extreme caution when traveling in border areas, warning of heightened insecurity due to the ongoing ARSA threat.