Women Are Increasingly Drawn to the Arakan Army’s Fight Against Myanmar’s Central Government.

RADIO FREE ASIA  
2019-04-18

Female Arakan Army recruits train with their male counterparts in northern Myanmar's Kachin state in an undated photo.

RFA video screenshot

The Arakan Army, which is battling the Myanmar military for autonomy in turbulent Rakhine state, has grown in both force strength and firepower since its formation in 2009 to the level that the rebel group can now launch successful offensives on police or military outposts. And its message is drawing as many young female recruits as men.

Many Arakanese Embrace AA’s Presence

The Irrawaddy
By Lawi Weng 12 February 2019

Arakan Army chief Tun Myat Naing attends a cadet graduation ceremony in Kachin’s Laiza Township last year, where the armed group’s headquarters is situated. / Arakan Army Info Desk 

Rakhine State has been the scene of the country’s worst fighting so far this year, as opposed to last year, when Kachin State was the focus. Each year the fighting moves from one area of the country to another, but it never seems to break out everywhere at once, despite the fact that most ethnic groups have their own armies. Some people have even asked why this should be. But, as we all know, the history of ethnic revolutionary armed groups shows that there is no common interest that would lead to a coordinated attack on the Myanmar Army (or Tatmadaw).

Myanmar: Why Is China On ‘Overdrive’ To Solve The Ethnic Question – OpEd

February 2nd, 2019

By SAAG

                                                                                                                                                Burma / Myanmar

By S. Chandrasekharan

From the flurry of activities of Sun Guoxiang, Special Envoy for Asian Affairs and the Chinese Ambassador at Yangon, it looks that Chinese are in a desperate hurry to solve the question of the ethnic minorities and their armed organisations operating in the Kachin and the Shan areas on the Chinese border.