ARSA retreats into Bangladesh after AA repels bid to seize border camp

By Admin 23 Sep 2025

DMG Newsroom

23 September 2025, Maungdaw

The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which had made repeated attempts to seize a border security camp in northern Maungdaw Township near the Arakan-Bangladesh border, fled into Bangladesh after being repelled by a counterattack from the Arakan Army (AA), according to locals and military sources close to the AA.

“ARSA had been trying to take control for about four days. They attacked from different directions, even reaching some old junta border guard buildings. But when AA launched its counteroffensive, all of them fled back into Bangladesh,” said a military source.

The security camp near Inn Chaung Village was first attacked by ARSA on September 20, but the AA recaptured it during a counterattack on September 22.

On September 22, ARSA released a video claiming it had seized a border security camp.

“AA has already retaken that camp and is continuing clearance operations to secure the border. The people shown in the trenches in ARSA’s video were not AA soldiers, but likely civilians detained by ARSA,” said a local in Maungdaw.

ARSA has repeatedly infiltrated from across the Bangladesh border to attack AA security camps, leading to frequent clashes along the frontier.

“At a time when the whole country is resisting military dictatorship, ARSA’s attacks on the AA — a key player in the resistance — amount to stabbing the movement in the back, effectively helping the junta survive,” said an Arakanese politician.

He added that while ARSA pretends to call for coexistence between Muslims and Arakanese people, in reality it is siding with the junta. Such actions, he said, will be remembered in history as shameful acts of betrayal.

AA Commander-in-Chief Major General Twan Mrat Naing also told The Irrawaddy in an interview that some Bangladeshi military officers have been encouraging Muslim armed groups to launch cross-border attacks in northern Maungdaw.

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

On September 19, the AA announced that it would step up border security measures due to the growing activities of Muslim armed groups in the border region.