A statement issued by the Arakan Army (AA) on 29 May 2026, sent shockwaves of interest through the public. This surge of attention came after the Arakan People’s Revolutionary Government informed the public that it had seized control of nearly the entire Arakan region, bringing its goal of total victory within reach.
This issue of BNI-Myanmar Peace Monitor’s Biweekly News Review examines the Arakan Army’s current territorial control, its ongoing military operations, and the challenges the it currently faces.
AA’s Territorial Control
The Arakan Army’s campaign of town seizures began with Pauktaw on 24 January 2024 and extended through the capture of Ngapali on 29 May 2025, bringing the total number of towns under its control to 25.
Arakan State comprises 28 towns in total. With 25 now under its control, the Arakan Army holds 89 percent of all towns in the state.
According to BNI-Myanmar Peace Monitor’s data, the AA exercises full control over 14 townships, while Kyaukphyu Township – which hosts a strategic deep-sea port and Special Economic Zone project – remains under partial control. This effectively leaves the military junta controlling only two townships: Sittwe and Manaung.
On this basis, the data supports that the Arakan Army’s claim of controlling nearly the entire state is both factual and credible.
AA’s Ongoing Operations
Driven by the objective of estab-lishing total control over Arakan State, the Arakan Army launched its operations even before securing core state territories.
On 14 January 2024, the AA seized Paletwa and Sane towns in neighboring Chin State, along the Arakan State border. Simultaneously, the AA has been conducting coordinated offensives against the junta forces in conjunction with local resistance groups operating in Bago Region, Ayeyarwady Region, Magway Region, and Chin State, all of which share borders with Arakan State.
According to BNI-Myanmar Peace Monitor data covering the period from 1 January 2025 to 28 May 2026, a total of 191 conflict events took place between the junta forces and the local resist-ance coalition forces led by the AA. Notably, Ngape Township in Magway Region ranked second for the highest number of conflict events after Kyaukphyu Township within Arakan State.
Concurrently, AA operations and those of its allied forces have also expanded into Pandaung Township in western Bago Region, as well as Yegyi, Lemyethna, Pathein, and Thabaung townships in Ayeyarwady Region.
An analysis of these military maneuvers and regional alliances reveals Kyaukphyu and Sittwe as the primary targets of the current AA offensive. To secure AA-held territory and guard against potential junta counter-offensives from Chin, Magway, Bago, and Ayeyarwady regions, the AA has taken a leading role – building alliances with local resistance forces and providing coordinated military support.
Analysis
Intense fighting is currently ongoing between the military junta and the Arakan Army near Kant Kaw Kyun, War Bo, and Taw Kan villages – located along the border of Ponnagyun and Sittwe townships – as well as near the junta’s Regional Military Command (RMC). In Ayeyarwady Region’s Yegyi Township, near the Arakan Mountains (Rakhine Yoma), the AA and allied forces have captured two hilltop positions previously garrisoned by the junta. This confirms that the offensive operations against the junta remain highly active and uninterrupted.
On 10 April of this year, AA Commander-in-Chief General Twan Mrat Naing confidently assured the people of Arakan that decisive battles for the remaining territories in Arakan State would be successfully concluded ‘before the close of either 2026 or 2027’.
Despite these rapid gains, the Arakan Army faces significant challenges as its administrative territories expand. As with other resistance-held areas across Myanmar, AA-controlled areas face constant threat of aerial attacks by the junta. Simultaneously, cross-border armed groups such as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO), and the Arakan Rohingya Army (ARA) operating from the Bangladeshi border along the Mayu Mountain Range in southern Maungdaw Township pose a significant challenge to the safety of local residents and to the AA’s efforts to consolidate its administrative apparatus in the area.
Territorial control data confirms that the AA’s announcement of being within reach of total control over Arakan State is not mere propaganda; the accelerating pace of military operations further reflects the steady realization of the AA’s strategic objectives.