Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA)

Reading Time: < 1 minute Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) Also Known As: Harakah al-Yaqin (former)Founded: 2016Base of Operations: Maungdaw–Buthidaung belt near Bangladesh borderIdeology: Islamist-Rohingya nationalist (Salafist leanings)Objective: Defend Rohingya population and reclaim rights in Rakhine State ➤ Order of Battle (ORBAT) Estimate ComponentEstimateNotesTotal Fighters500 – 1,000Organised in village-level cellsActive Cells20–30Fluid, low cohesion; non-contiguous controlWeaponsSmall arms, home-made IEDs, machetesIncludes AKs, hunting rifles, locally made grenadesLeadershipAttaullah abu Ammar Jununi (believed based in Bangladesh)Leadership dispersed and clandestineSafehouses & SupportLimitedMainly reliant on civilian shelters, sympathetic kinship networks ➤ Capabilities & Tactics Operates primarily at night, uses hit-and-run and ambush tactics Known for attacking police posts and local collaborators Occasional retaliation against Rohingya accused of collaboration Limited control over territory; more of a reactive force ➤ Foreign Links Historical links with diaspora donors in Gulf states Previously monitored for links to foreign jihadist actors, but no hard evidence since 2019 ➤ Assessment ARSA is