CNI News
22 August 2025
Local sources report that the Arakan Army (AA) is fighting alongside the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) against the Shanni Nationalities Army (SNA) to gain control of the Indawgyi region, where the majority of the population are Shanni people.
To seize control of the Indawgyi area, the KIA, with about 200 AA troops, launched an offensive on August 16, 2025, attacking SNA outposts in the villages of Ma Mong Kain and Maing Naung.
After the SNA lost some military outposts, they reportedly launched a counteroffensive on August 17, regaining the lost outposts.
A resident of the Indawgyi area stated, "The KIA has been launching an offensive to control Indawgyi since August 16. The surprising thing is that the Arakanese group, the AA, is fighting alongside the KIA. This shouldn't be happening. Why is the AA attacking the Shanni region? There have never been any problems between the Shanni and the Rakhine people. We condemn the AA for fighting on the side of the KIA. We want them to stop this completely wrong action. Even if they are not friends, we do not want them to become enemies."
The AA is a Rakhine armed group that the KIA founded in April 2009 in Laiza, Kachin State. AA leaders are currently residing in Laiza. Since its founding, the AA has been fighting alongside the KIA in their military operations.
The CNI attempted to contact the AA for comment regarding their joint operation with the KIA against the SNA in the Indawgyi region, but has not yet received a response.
The Indawgyi region is part of the Mohnyin Township in Kachin State and is home to a majority Shanni population.
According to local Indawgyi residents, while the KIA was in control of the region, they oppressed the local population in various ways, including going from house to house to arrest and conscript young people and collecting taxes. They said that the Shanni armed group, the SNA, then penetrated and took control of the Indawgyi region in July 2025.