The Arakan Army (AA), an armed ethnic group in Myanmar, said it seized control of a strategic trade town in the west this week, dealing a blow to the military government and adding to a list of recent army defeats in the country’s continuing civil war.
Paletwa town lies close to the borders of both India and Bangladesh, and is part of a multimillion-dollar sea port project that could soon link India to Myanmar.
“There is not a single military council camp left in the entire Paletwa area,” an AA spokesperson posted on social media.
Myanmar’s military government has faced a swarm of resistance fighters since 2021 when it seized power from an elected government.
The Three Brotherhood Coalition or the 3BHA, a collection of armed groups including the AA, has launched surprise offensives and claims to have captured 100 military locations since October.
Here’s what we know about the group:
#AA 🎉declares #PaletwaVictory! Seizing the last ‘Hnamadar’ & ‘Khan Kha Taung,’ Paletwa is #SAC_free. “Mee Wa” seized after nearly 2 years of attacks. Today, Paletwa is AA-controlled. Salute Arakkha Soldiers for bravery, obedience and seamless cooperation. #3BHA#Operation1027 pic.twitter.com/IaCnenjHUa
— Operation 1027-3BHA (@operation1027) January 14, 2024
Who makes up the alliance?
The Three Brotherhood Alliance is made up of ethnic rebel groups: the Arakan Army, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), and commands about 15,000 fighters.
- Arakan Army: Founded in 2009, the Arakan Army is believed to have some 30,000 soldiers. It claims to be fighting to restore the sovereignty of the multi-ethnic Arakanese. The group has recruited troops from the Rohingya, a minority ethnic group residing in Rakhine that has been the subject of a brutal crackdown and a possible genocide campaign by the Tatmadaw – the Myanmar armed forces. The Tatmadaw proscribes the AA as a “terror” group.
- Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA): The MNDAA operates near the Chinese border in the northern Shan state. The group claims to be fighting for autonomy for the Kokang people, a Han-speaking ethnic group. MNDAA controlled Shan for about 20 years as a special region of Myanmar, during which the narcotics trade boomed. Armed conflicts between the group and the Tatmadaw broke out in 2009 after it was asked to become a border force, and give up control. MNDAA is trying to retake Laukkaing, a key commercial town in the north that it lost in the 2009 conflict.
- Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA): Leading a smaller rebellion, the TNLA is the armed wing of the Palaung Self Liberation Front, a political organisation founded by Tar Aik Bong and Tar Bone Kyaw, both former rebel fighters from the fringe Ta’ang minority group. Its latest incarnation was formed in 1992 and claims to be fighting for “real federalism” in Myanmar. The TNLA claims to have 5,000 fighters, although it has been linked to forced recruitment campaigns in rural villages.
What is the alliance’s military record?
The three ethnic armed groups banded together in 2019. Initially, the alliance focused on launching attacks on military troops in the MNDAA and AA strongholds of Shan and Rakhine states.
Following the February 1, 2021, military takeover and the crackdown that followed, the alliance released a statement condemning the killing of hundreds of pro-democracy protesters.
Since then, the alliance has launched several attacks, sometimes allying with the People’s Defence Forces (PDF). The PDF is a group of loosely structured resistance cells that act as the armed wing of the National Unity Government, the parallel government in exile composed of elected leaders who were deposed in the 2021 coup. The NUG has popular support in Myanmar, and is recognised by the European Union. It also has representative offices in the United States, United Kingdom and South Korea.
The 3BHA recorded some successes over the Tatmadaw in 2021, including in December, when they forced government troops to retreat from the city of Namphan, an MNDAA stronghold.
But its biggest victories came in 2023. On October 27, some 10,000 alliance fighters launched coordinated, large-scale assaults on the military, police and government-allied militia locations across Shan state. More than 100 military posts fell as military government soldiers retreated and left heavy weapons and significant ammunition behind.
Chin Shwe Haw and Mongko, major towns on the border with China have fallen to the alliance. The group claims to have captured Hpawng Hseng, Pang Hseng, and Hsenwi villages. Lashio, the biggest town in Shan, has seen rebel attacks, while bridges and highways connecting Myanmar to China have been destroyed.
The continuing offensive is being dubbed “Operation 1027” – after its launch date.
Can the alliance overturn military rule in Myanmar?
The Myanmar military government is now facing several war fronts as other resistance forces seize on the initial gains of Operation 1027.
In one incident in November, government soldiers raised white flags, surrendering the township of Kawlin, a district capital in central Myanmar, and allowing PDF forces to take over. It marked the army’s first defeat in a capital district, and also, the first success of resistance groups, which had been largely limited to border areas, in central Myanmar.
But the Tatmadaw still has command of the majority of its military bases and is not at risk of being overthrown. The military government has also responded with force to the rebels, launching air raids, pumping in ground troops, and inflicting heavy losses on some of the newly formed resistance cells. Thousands of civilians have been forced from their homes, or worse, caught in crossfires.
Still, the armed coalition’s recent gains, and its social media presence, could be denting the Tatmadaw’s reputation. It has already given wind to opposition groups like the NUG, which has praised the alliance and even claims to have established governance in some of the areas overtaken by the PDF.
Some experts claim that the alliance has the backing of China, based on the scope of Operation 1027. However, Beijing has in the past brokered peace deals between the military government and groups like MNDAA operating on the Chinese border, as fighting has affected trade and has forced thousands of refugees into the Yunnan province.
In the most recent Beijing-brokered peace talks on January 12, a government spokesperson floated the possibility of a ceasefire with the alliance.
Four days later, it has become clear that there has been no cessation in fighting yet.
