AA conducting clearance operations against ARSA in Maungdaw district             

By Admin 25 Oct 2025

DMG Newsroom

25 October 2025, Maungdaw

The Arakan Army (AA) has launched clearance operations against members of the Muslim armed group Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) who have infiltrated Maungdaw District, carried out ambushes, abductions, and killings of civilians, and then fled, according to local residents.

ARSA units are said to have set up temporary camps along the Arakan–Bangladesh frontier and inside Bangladesh, infiltrating into Buthidaung, Rathedaung, and Maungdaw townships to attack AA security posts and civilians on the roads.

“AA is conducting territorial clearance, prioritising northern Maungdaw,” a resident of Kyein Chaung said. “We’ve seen columns dividing into squads of 20 or 30 moving along the Mayu range, and some units establishing camps in the forest.”

On 23 October, the AA announced it was pursuing ARSA elements hiding in the Mayu Mountains of Maungdaw Township to reduce violence and protect public safety.

ARSA attacks against travellers and traders in Maungdaw, Rathedaung, and Buthidaung townships have increased this month. On 24 October, three villagers from Kin Chaung — including a teenage girl — were abducted by ARSA while herding cattle near the foothills of the Mayu range and remain missing, residents said.

“AA troops, village defence teams, and locals are searching inside the Mayu hills,” another Maungdaw resident told DMG. “ARSA is being hunted, but the three people from Kin Chaung haven’t been found yet.”

On 22 October, ARSA gunmen ambushed a passenger vehicle travelling from Zedee Pyin (Rathedaung Township) to Kyauk Pandu (Maungdaw Township) on the Mayu mountain road, killing two women and injuring two men. Residents say ARSA activity has recently pushed southward into the Mayu mountain–crossing corridor, heightening security concerns.

Over the past six months in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships, at least 40 civilians have been killed and no fewer than 20 injured in ARSA attacks, according to DMG records.

ARSA has also raided AA outposts guarding the border and engaged in sniping at AA troops, leading to frequent skirmishes.

“Key roads used for cross-border trade and daily travel are now being hit by repeated ARSA ambushes,” a woman from Buthidaung said. “For merchants, security can’t be guaranteed at all. On sparsely populated stretches, small groups simply can’t travel.”

Given ongoing threats from ARSA and the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO), the AA is urging border communities to avoid travelling alone or in small groups through forests and isolated areas. For essential trips — including medical needs — residents are advised to notify the nearest administrative or security units of the Arakan People’s Revolutionary Government/AA before setting out.