Bay of Bengal Post Promotes Unfounded Claims by Terrorist ARSA Working in Collusion with the Military Junta

News Analysis ၊ August 13, 2026

Unfounded allegations were recently published by the Department of Public Relations and Information (DPRI) the media and information wing of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a designated terrorist organization aimed at undermining the territory control and governance legitimacy gained by the Arakan Army (AA) during armed conflicts in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships of northern Arakan.

Certain media outlets, including the Bay of Bengal, which involves overseas Muslim activists, are echoing these statements while ignoring the reality on the ground, serving as nothing more than propaganda.

Joint Military Operations by ARSA and the Myanmar Military, and Atrocities Against Locals

According to actual ground developments, when the Myanmar military could no longer withstand the offensives of the ULA/AA, it aligned and conducted operations with active armed factions such as ARSA and RSO.

The Military Council provided these terrorist groups with arms, military training, and deployment as auxiliary forces, jointly committing destruction of local civilians' lives and property, hostage-taking, and killings in Maungdaw and Buthidaung.

ARSA’s primary activities have revolved around daily threats, kidnappings, extortions, and destabilizing local security, striving to reignite intercommunal and religious conflict with the support of the Military Council.

The Groundlessness of ARSA’s Statements and the Truth Behind the Accusations

The statistics and allegations published by the Department of Public Relations and Information (DPRI) of ARSA a designated terrorist organization claiming that the Arakan Army (AA) caused over 1,504 casualties, lack any verification by independent organizations and are completely unsubstantiated fabrications.

First, ARSA itself is an organization officially designated as a terrorist group by neighbouring countries and regional communities. ARSA's leader, Ataullah abu Ammar Jununi, has himself been detained by Bangladeshi security forces.

Furthermore, ARSA is an organization that commits crimes such as arrests, extortion, and brutal killings of local civilians in refugee camps and border regions.

Regarding ARSA's terrorist acts, reports from the Humanitarian and Development Coordination Office (HDCO) as well as independent international human rights organizations such as Amnesty International's 2018 report detailing ARSA's brutal massacres of local Hindus and other ethnic minorities in the Maungdaw area have strongly documented these actions.

Therefore, statements from a terrorist organization that commits various regional crimes cannot be considered credible information in any way.

Secondly, there is no solid evidence to support the accusation that the Arakan Army killed more than 1,500 people.

While casualties can occur during wartime, accusing the AA of killing every single person who died is completely illogical. The photographs presented by ARSA only show the bodies of the deceased and do not provide evidence of who committed the killings.

These deaths could also have been caused by being caught in the crossfire during battles. Even worse, ARSA itself may have fabricated these claims after killing Muslims, Hindus, and local ethnic minorities such as Rakhine, Mro, Thet, and Chakma, only to shift the blame onto the Arakan Army.

Lastly, the majority of the casualties listed by ARSA are actually Extremist Militant fighters who died in combat while fighting against the Arakan Army in alliance with the Military Council.

They compiled lists of their own members who died while collaborating with the military junta, rebranded them as innocent civilians, and spread biased propaganda to accuse the AA.

In reality, eyewitness evidence on the ground proves that when the Arakan Army took control of Buthidaung and Maungdaw, it helped evacuate local residents, including Muslim families, to safety and provided humanitarian aid in displaced persons camps.

Therefore, ARSA's statements are merely fabricated propaganda designed to conceal their own terrorist crimes, erase their history of collusion with the Military Council, and discredit the legitimacy of the ULA/AA.

ULA/AA Efforts Toward Social Harmony and the Rule of Law

The Arakkha Government continues to prioritize social harmony among diverse ethnic and religious groups residing in Arakan State, including Rakhine and Muslim communities, while actively restoring stability and enforcing the rule of law.

Recently, local Rakhine and Muslim youths, alongside AA personnel, jointly carried out community cleaning campaigns at major mosques and monasteries in Buthidaung and Maungdaw. Furthermore, to protect civilians from threats posed by ARSA and other extremist elements, security measures such as curfews have been implemented.

Consequently, the baseless claims made by the terrorist group ARSA, along with the one-sided coverage derived from them, represent deliberate efforts to sabotage intercommunal and interfaith harmony in Arakan State while attempting to mask their history of collusion with the Military Council.