By NAN LWIN HNIN PWINT / THE IRRAWADDY| Tuesday, May 10, 2016 Arakan Army leader Brig-Gen Tun Myat Naing. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) Arakan Army leader Brig-Gen Tun Myat Naing. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) Founded in 2009 in northern Kachin State, far from their homeland, the Arakan Army (AA) were trained and supported by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), and joined the KIA and the Myanmar Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), in skirmishes with the Burma Army in the country’s northeast last year. In March 2015, the first clashes between the AA and the Burma Army were recorded in Arakan State itself. This quickly receded, but clashes resumed in December 2015, acquiring a new intensity and prolonging into the term of the new government. The violence has spread beyond Kyauktaw Township to Buthidaung, Mrauk-U, Rathedaung and Ponnagyun townships of central and northern Arakan State. More than 1,700 local residents have been displaced this year by the fighting. Although la