Myanmar’s Armed Groups And Democracy Activists Are Joining Forces

Andrew Nachemson

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Soon after seizing control of Buthidaung town in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine State from the Myanmar military in May, the separatist Arakan Army allegedly set fire to hundreds of homes belonging to members of the Rohingya Muslim minority. The Arakan Army has pledged to fight for the political rights of all people in Rakhine, on the border with Bangladesh, but it is mostly made up of Rakhine Buddhists, who have clashed with their Rohingya neighbors during previous bouts of communal violence. The incident was a grim parallel to the Myanmar military’s brutal crackdown on the marginalized group seven years ago.