 | This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(April 2025) |
| Three Brotherhood Alliance | |
|---|---|
| Foundation | June 2019 |
| Dates of operation | June 2019–present |
| Group(s) | |
| Active regions | Chin State Shan State Rakhine State Bangladesh–Myanmar border China–Myanmar border |
| Allies | State allies Non-state allies |
| Opponents | State opponents Non-state opponents  Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army Restoration Council of Shan State[4] |
| Battles and wars | Internal conflict in Myanmar |
TheThree Brotherhood Alliance (Burmese:ညီနောင်မဟာမိတ်သုံးဖွဲ့;Chinese:三兄弟联盟), also known asBrotherhood Alliance, is an alliance between theArakan Army,Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and theTa'ang National Liberation Army formed in June 2019.[5]
The group rose to prominence in 2023 in resisting the Burmese junta in the wake of the2021 Myanmar coup d'état. The three armed groups were silent about the coup initially but released a statement reaffirming the alliance's existence in March 2021. During theMyanmar civil war, the group fought mainly inRakhine State and northernShan State. On October 27, 2023, the alliance launchedOperation 1027, an offensive against the junta in northern Shan state.[6]
In 2016, following increased tensions between theRohingya people of Rakhine State in western Myanmar and Buddhist extremists allied with theMyanmar military, the Burmese government began agenocidal campaign to expel Rohingya civilians from Rakhine state. The tensions hit a boiling point following an attack byArakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) militants against a Burmese police outpost.[7] TheArakan Army, which had fought against the Tatmadaw in the early 2010s alongside theKachin Independence Army, resumed operations in Rakhine state following the resurgence in conflict and in 2018, conducted several attacks against the Tatmadaw in Rakhine state.[8]
TheTa'ang National Liberation Army predominantly conducted localized operations against the Tatmadaw in northernShan State prior to the 2021 coup.[9] Despite being created in 2009, more recent than other rebel groups in Myanmar, the TNLA received public support fromTa'ang people and military support from other rebel groups like theKIA andUnited Wa State Army. Prior to the coup, the TNLA clashed regularly with theRestoration Council of Shan State over control of northern Shan state.[9]
TheMyanmar National Democratic Alliance Army is an ethnic armed group representing theKokang people in northern Myanmar. Prior to the coup, the group participated in sporadic clashes between the Tatmadaw and the TNLA, but ultimately signed a ceasefire with the Tatmadaw in 2019.[10]
TheNorthern Alliance is a coalition of four rebel groups – the MNDAA, AA, TNLA, and the KIA – that was founded in 2016 to participate inpeace talks with the Burmese government. In April 2017, the Northern Alliance, along with three other EAOs (theUnited Wa State Army,National Democratic Alliance Army, and theShan State Army – North), formed theFederal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee.[11]
The Three Brotherhood Alliance first arose in June 2019, during heavy fighting between the Arakan Army and the Tatmadaw in Rakhine State and MNDAA and TNLA offensives in Shan state.[5]Initially, the name was colloquially called "Brotherhood Alliance". It was notably not joined by the KIA, which was part of government peace talks in theFPNCC.[12] The first attacks by the 3BA were in Shan State and inMandalay.[12] This offensive halted in early September 2019, with the alliance releasing a statement that peace talks were held with the Burmese government inKengtung.[5] Further peace talks between the two parties established a one-month ceasefire lasting until October 8, 2019.[13] The ceasefire paused further actions by the MNDAA until the 2021 coup.[10] However, clashes continued between the AA and the Tatmadaw in Rakhine state, despite a ceasefire extension into 2020 by the 3BA.[14]
The Keng Tung ceasefire continued through March 2020.[15] Despite this, the Tatmadaw declared the Arakan Army to be a terrorist group on March 23.[16] The group released another statement in May 2020, as the ceasefire extensions continued, urging the Tatmadaw to respect the ceasefire in Rakhine state.[17] Renewed peace talks came to fruition in July 2020, with AA and the 3BA beginning peace talks with the Burmese government.[18] The Tatmadaw and Arakan Army signed a ceasefire in November 2020, and afterwards, the group consolidated control over much of Rakhine State and acted like a de facto state.[19] By 2021, few clashes were documented between the junta and members of the Three Brotherhood Alliance.
The Three Brotherhood Alliance were one of the few rebel groups to not immediately declare war on the junta after the coup in February 2021. Because of this, the junta prioritized negotiations with the alliance in an attempt to gain support for the junta. In early March, the junta removed the Arakan Army from its list of terrorist groups in an attempt to gain support as other rebel groups began rebelling against the government.[20] However, AA spokesman Khine Tha Khahe deplored the actions of the Tatmadaw against protesters, calling them "very cruel and unacceptable."[21] The TNLA and MNDAA also did not register any clashes with the Tatmadaw immediately following the coup – junta forces instead pulled troops from northern Shan state to southeastern Myanmar to quell insurgents, allowing both groups (especially the TNLA) to exercise de facto control over northern Shan.[9]
On March 29, 2021, the three groups released a statement announcing opposition of the alliance to the junta onFacebook.[22] The alliance was the first public action against the junta by either of the three groups.[21] In the statement, the three groups stated that the three groups would "re-evaluate the unilateral ceasefire".[23] The ceasefire fell apart following the alliance's first attack on junta troops on April 10, 2021. In the attack, 3BA forcesambushed a police outpost in the city ofNaungmon in northern Shan state, killing fourteen police officers.[23] The Tatmadaw regained control over the police outpost an hour later, by which time the 3BA fighters had fled.[24][23]
The rest of 2021 marked a time of relatively few incidents between the junta and Three Brotherhood Alliance. The MNDAA and TNLA instead used their respite to train troops and covertly aid localPDF groups in Mandalay.[25][9] The 3BA also released statements condemning the junta's actions against civilians and in thebattle of Thantlang.[26][27] In Rakhine, the AA used the first peace in years to gain control over most of Rakhine state, declaring in August that they controlled over two-thirds of the state.[28][29]
In late 2021, clashes broke out in Kokang after the MNDAA attacked the village of Ei Nie in northern Shan state.[30] The MNDAA also catalogued 126 incidents of clashes with the Tatmadaw in November 2021, an escalation of clashes first beginning in July.[31][32] Around that time, the group was gaining strength and firepower.[31]
In December, junta troops dropped around 500paratroopers over the border city ofNamphan, which was controlled by the MNDAA.[32] Over 100 Tatmadaw soldiers were killedin the raid, and the remaining soldiers were forced to flee.[32] The raid marked the first major attack by the Tatmadaw on a member of the 3BA since the coup, effectively securing de facto MNDAA control over Namphan.[25] The secretary of the TNLA,Tar Bone Kyaw, stated that the raid cemented the 3BA's position on the junta as hostile.[25]
In February 2022, skirmishes broke out inMaungdaw Township of Rakhine, leading to a junta crackdown on AA-affiliated citizens and areas of Rakhine. In response, the AA refused participation in peace talks.[29] Five months later in July 2022, the junta launched an airstrike on an AA base in an area administered by theKaren National Union, killing six AA fighters. In response, the AA ambushed Tatmadaw soldiers in Maungdaw, killing four.[28] These clashes escalated throughout August to November, with 100 battles occurring in nine Rakhine townships.[28] Thirty-six Tatmadaw outposts were destroyed, thirty-one of which were in northern Maungdaw.[28] The Tatmadaw launched a counteroffensive in November, but with major civilian casualties. A truce was signed on November 26.[28]
Meanwhile, the MNDAA and TNLA used the peace in 2022 to consolidate control over areas and stockpile weapons.[9] The TNLA did not conduct any major attacks against the junta forces, but did launch small raids to show power.[9]
In 2023, the Three Brotherhood Alliance increased their rejection of the junta by denouncing theelection as a sham despite the junta promising constitutional protection for several groups. Militarily, the 3BA began increasingly supporting other armed groups such as theKarenni Nationalities Defence Force.[9][33][34] The TNLA also launched a brief recruitment raid in May 2023 inLashio, military controlled territory.[9]
The Three Brotherhood Alliance launched a massive offensive in northern Shan state on October 27, 2023, in an operation dubbed Operation 1027.[1][35] The operation was in response to a failed junta offensive towards the KIA-controlled town ofLaiza in Kachin state, which fizzled out in early October. At the end of the failed offensive, the junta launched an airstrike thatkilled 29 people, mostly children.[1] In Operation 1027, the Three Brotherhood Alliance captured the city ofChinshwehaw and destroyed dozens of junta bases in the mountains of northern Shan.[36] Clashes also broke out in the cities ofLashio,Hsenwi, andKutkai, the first major fighting in those cities in the war.[37] The operation received praise and support by other rebel groups, such as PDF groups in Mandalay, theKarenni National People's Liberation Front, thePeople's Liberation Army,[38] and theNational Unity Government of Myanmar.[1]
