1967: Arakan Liberation Party
The Arakan Liberation Party and its armed wing were founded on 9 April 1967 with KNU support, later joining Myanmar's Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement.[1]
2009-2016: Arakan Army and ULA founding
The Arakan Army was founded on 10 April 2009, relocating to Rakhine State around 2014 and forming its political wing, the ULA, in 2016.[2]
Its "Arakan Dream 2020" strategy sought either a Myanmar confederation or full independence.[3]
· Other
Founding of the Arakan Army, 2009
A small group of Rakhine nationalists founded what would become the region's dominant armed organisation.
2024-2025: territorial gains
By early 2025, the AA controlled an estimated 90% or more of Rakhine State, establishing parallel governance.[4]
· Other
Arakan Army territorial gains, 2024-2025
The AA came to control an estimated 90% or more of Rakhine State's territory amid Myanmar's civil war.
Sources for this page
Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.
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1.
Claim: The Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) was founded on 9 April 1967, along with its armed wing the Arakan Liberation Army (ALA), with support from the Karen National Union; the ALA signed a ceasefire agreement with the Myanmar government on 5 April 2012 and became a signatory to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement on 15 October 2015.
- Arakan Liberation Party (Wikipedia) link, Founding and ceasefire sections. Source record
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2.
Claim: The Arakan Army (AA) was founded on 10 April 2009 by Twan Mrat Naing and 25 companions on the Myanmar-China border in Kachin State, with support from the Kachin Independence Army, before relocating its presence to Rakhine State around 2014. In January 2016, the AA established a political wing, the United League of Arakan (ULA), which in 2019 created an administrative body, the Arakan People's Authority (APA).
- Arakan Army (Wikipedia) link, Founding, Relocation and ULA sections. Source record
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3.
Claim: The Arakan Army's "Arakan Dream 2020" campaign set out its long-term strategy of establishing an autonomous Rakhine polity, articulated as seeking either a confederal arrangement within Myanmar or, alternatively, full independence for a Rakhine state.
- Arakan Army (Wikipedia) link, Political Goals section. Source record
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4.
Claim: By early 2025, amid Myanmar's post-2021 civil war, the Arakan Army had gained control of an estimated 90% or more of Rakhine State's territory and at least 14 of its 17 townships, including the entire border with Bangladesh, while Myanmar's military government retained control of only Sittwe (the state capital) and Manaung, with Kyaukphyu remaining under partial control; the AA has established parallel governance structures in areas under its control. This bundle presents these as reported territorial control figures, not independently verified by this bundle, and does not narrate the military operations behind them in detail.
- Can the Arakan Army Win Recognition for Its Rule Over Rakhine State? (The Diplomat) link, Territorial control and governance sections. Source record
Printed from https://independenceatlas.com/movements/rakhine-arakan/history · last substantive update 24 September 2026.