Arakan Army Captures Buthidaung Town

On This Day in Arakan History ၊ May 18, 2024

May 18, 2024, marks the day when the Arakan Army (AA) announced it had seized complete control of Buthidaung Township in northern Rakhine State, capturing the junta's Strategic Military Command and all remaining military strongholds in the area. The AA reported seizing Light Infantry Battalions 234, 345, and 352, Artillery Battalion 378, logistics and engineering units, and two border guard bases.

This victory came after weeks of intense fighting—on May 2, the AA had captured Operations Command 15 in the township, taking hundreds of prisoners including the deputy commander and their families, followed by Light Infantry Battalion 511 on May 3.

The capture of Buthidaung was historically significant for several reasons. First, it marked the AA's conquest of a town with the largest Muslim population in Rakhine State since the 2017 violence that drove many thousands of Muslims to Bangladesh. Second, the battle exposed shifting and complex alignments—the AA claimed Muslim recruits and militant groups were fighting alongside junta forces against them. Third, the town's destruction became fiercely contested: diaspora Muslim activists accused the AA of systematic arson, while AA spokesman Khaing Thukha blamed junta airstrikes and retreating troops for the fires.

Junta soldiers and Muslim militants surrendering following the seizure of the No. 15 Military Operations Command near Buthidaung (source@aainfodesk)

Finally, the crossborder recruits in Bangladesh’s refugee camps by various Muslim militant groups like ARSA, RSO, ARA were also well-reported and raised questions on the roles of Dhaka’s border authorities in Arakan’s conflicts.  The event highlighted how Rakhine's conflict had become multi-layered, with ethnic armed groups, junta forces, and Muslim militants all caught in overlapping armed clashes. The UN human rights office expressed alarm at "frightening and disturbing reports" emerging from the area.

The May 18 capture had profound consequences for Rakhine State's future. The mass displacement of local communities deepened communal trauma and mistrust, with rights groups demanding accountability for alleged atrocities. The battle demonstrated that the AA's campaign, while targeting the junta and Muslim collaborators, carried severe consequences for the local communities caught in the crossfire.

Local Muslim women alongside Arakan Army fighters during the Buthidaung takeover battle (source@aainfodesk)

The incident complicated the international views on local conflicts, as human rights investigators later documented the killings of civilians and burning of villagers during the conflicts. The capture also advanced the AA's strategic position—by May 2024, the group had seized seven of Rakhine State's seventeen townships plus Paletwa in Chin State, controlling approximately 180 junta bases.

The victory brought the AA closer to its goal of dominating Rakhine while simultaneously raising urgent questions about how it would govern ethnically diverse areas under its control. May 18, 2024, thus stands as a date of both military triumph and humanitarian tragedy.