State Administration Council Tatmadaw Disputed Arakan Army People's Defence Force On 13 November 2023, the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic resistance group active in the civil war in Myanmar, launched a military offensive against Myanmar's military junta in Rakhine and southern Chin State.

The Arakan Army followed these successes by besieging Sittwe, the state capital, and Ann, the headquarters of the junta's western command.

The International Institute for Strategic Studies reported that the Arakan Army's sweeping gains "are already enough to enable self-rule over a large portion of the Rakhine homeland and to reshape the wider balance of power in Myanmar.

[18] Junta forces detained about 100 residents who were unable to flee, and positioned themselves to surround the town, using two navy ships to blockade the harbour.

[25] On 17 January 2024, the Taingen camp on the Falam road to the Indian border was captured, with Chin resistance forces seizing arms and ammunition.

[27] The Arakan Army captured most remaining Tatmadaw bases in Minbya by 6 February, almost taking full control of the township.

[35] During an evacuation attempt by the junta from Kyauktaw town during attacks by the Arakan Army on the same day, three naval landing craft were sunk.

[31] The Arakan Army announced on 30 January that it was fighting to oust the junta from the coastal city of Ramree in Rakhine State.

[42] During the battle, junta warships and fighter jets shelled the town, eventually destroying the Zay Ti Pyin bridge connecting Ponnagyun to Rathedaung.

The capture of Ponnagyun is significant as it is only 33 kilometres northeast of the regional capital, Sittwe, and allows the Arakan Army to threaten the city.

[46] In Maungdaw Township, AA also captured a border outpost forcing 179 junta soldiers to flee into neighboring Bangladesh.

[48] The AA claimed that the junta used forcibly conscripted Rohingya people as human shields during its unsuccessful defense of the town.

Witnesses and international organizations accused the Arakan Army of engaging in retaliatory arson against Rohingya people, ordering them out of their homes before burning them to the ground.

[53][54][55] On 3 May, the Arakan Army captured the headquarters of the Border Guard Police in Maungdaw Township at Kyee Kan Pyin.

According to the Rohingya news group, Kaladan Press, the attack was possibly triggered by a large gathering of RSO fighters near the massacre area.

Intense clashes broke out on 22 April around the Tha Htay hydropower plant in northern Thandwe Township, reportedly leading to the deaths of "dozens" of junta soldiers.

[70] On 7 June, clashes broke out between the Arakan Army and junta forces north of Thandwe, with fighting inching steadily closer to the city over the following days.

[73] On 26 June, the Arakan Army seized the headquarters of the junta's Battalion 566, forcing military troops to retreat to the town's airport and hotels inside the city.

[74] Militia reinforcements brought by the regime from across Myanmar, as well as shelling from navy ships offshore, were unable to stop the Arakan Army's continued progress in its offensive.

Heavy fighting broke out around Taungup University, where a junta artillery battalion is stationed, and clashes were reported in downtown areas as well.

[85] After a period of relative calm, conflict in Taungup resumed at the end of October, when the Arakan Army attacked a junta artillery position outside the town.

According to analysts, there were fears within the junta that Gwa falling to the Arakan Army could let fighting spread into Ayeyarwady, which has been largely conflict-free throughout the war.

[91] Narinjara News reported on 12 August that over the course of the offensive, junta forces had destroyed 22 bridges throughout the state in attempts to impede the Arakan Army's advances.

On 3 February 2024, as the clashes between the Arakan Army and Tatmadaw increased in Rakhine, mortar shells and several bullets reportedly landed in Bangladesh territory, which injured some local residents.

[101] On 5 February 2024, a Bangladeshi woman and a Rohingya man died from a mortar shell that fell on the Ghumdum border in Bandarban, reportedly fired by Myanmar.

[112] Five Rohingya were found dead after AA arrested them, but the group denied killing the men and said it was a result of warring drug gangs.

[114] The UNDP alleged that blockades placed on Rakhine by the SAC to isolate the state were "clearly aimed at... exacting collective punishment on an already vulnerable population."

Rakhine's essential services, like healthcare, education, and clean water, are already in strife, with large segments of the population unable to access them.

Aung Kyaw Moe, a cabinet member of NUG, wrote in an X post that junta "is using the Rohingya as a proxy to protest against AA in Buthidang is not definitely organic.

[116] Spokesman for the UN Stéphane Dujarric said their local team sees the spreading of misinformation, disinformation and hate speech in northern Rakhine State.