The Myanmar military council’s designation of the Arakha Army (AA) as a terrorist organization has been condemned by AA spokesperson Khaing Thu Kha, who described it as a "cowardly act of deranged people." The military council, facing significant losses nationwide, labeled the AA, along with the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), as terrorist groups on September 2. Following the fall of the Northeast Command headquarters in Lashio, this move was seen as an attempt to mask the military’s ongoing violence against civilians.
There has not yet been any official response from the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) regarding the announcement. The AA criticized the military council’s actions as an effort to cover up daily violence against Rakhine locals and emphasized that the true terrorists are widely recognized by the public. "Certainly, the whole of Myanmar knows who the real terrorists are," Khaing Thukha added.
On October 27, 2023, the Three Brotherhood Alliance, which includes AA, TNLA, and MNDAA, launched Operation 1027, capturing military camps, battalions, and cities. With China's intervention, a ceasefire was signed on January 11, 2024, according to the Hainan Agreement. Starting from June 2024, the second wave of the operation 1027, which was a huge loss for the Military Council. The remaining cities and the Northeast Command Headquarters, based in the historic city of Lashio, were captured.
On the morning of September 3, 10 rockets were fired at the headquarters of the Central Command of the Military Council based in Mandalay, which was in command of the main military bases resisting the Shan-Mann Operations and the second wave, and an explosion occurred.
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