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Showing posts from May, 2016

Arakan Army Chief: ‘The Entire Arakan People Support Us’

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

Arakan State’s Internally Displaced Left Out in the Cold

By MOE MYINT / THE IRRAWADDY| Monday, May 9, 2016 Internally displaced Arakanese civilians in Yoe Chaung village, part of Kyauktaw Township in Arakan State. (Photo: Hla Htay) RANGOON — On April 16, celebrations for the Buddhist New Year’s Water Festival were being held around Arakan State. Music blared throughout towns and villages, and the people ate, drank and merrily splashed water on each other. But for thousands of Arakanese, the festivities were cut short by the sound of gunfire and explosions. Fighting between the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed organization, and the Burma Army last month engulfed villages in four townships, around 100 miles north of the state capital Sittwe. Thousands were forced from their homes, and at least 1,500 remain displaced, living in monasteries or other temporary shelters. With more violence breaking out Monday, the displaced people remain reluctant to return home, and a humanitarian crisis is brewing, which activists say is being ignored by