The Myanmar junta’s Border Guard Police (BGP) forces, which were stationed along the Bangladesh border with nearly 8,000 personnel and tasked with border security, has been completely captured and neutralized by the Arakan Army (AA). As a result, the entire structure of the BGP has been destroyed and is no longer functional.
On December 8th, at 9:30 AM, the Arakan Army (AA) announced that the Maungdaw District Ground Operations Command, located in the Myothugyi area of Maungdaw town and the base for the border guard unit at checkpoint number 5, was completely captured and neutralized by the AA.
The Border Guard Police (BGP) unit was established on March 10, 2014. The Border Guard Police’s headquarters in Maungdaw Township, known as Border Guard Post (1), was overseen by a police chief and operated as a department within the Myanmar Police Force.
The Border Guard Police (BGP), which was stationed along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, was established as a replacement for the Border Immigration and Checkpoint Control (BICC) that was dissolved on July 12, 2013. The BGP took over the responsibilities previously handled by the BICC in the border region.
The Border Guard Police (BGP) operates under the Ministry of Home Affairs and is organized under the headquarters of Border Guard Post (1). The BGP has designated 11 regions along the border, which are supervised by 11 border offices, 12 border police stations, 95 checkposts, 27 stream guard posts, and 12 border fence guard posts. In total, the BGP oversees 157 locations, divided into four operational divisions.
On October 9, 2016, armed militants identifying as Rohingya insurgents attacked and infiltrated the Border Immigration and Checkpoint Control headquarters in the Kyikanpyin area of Maungdaw Township, destroying and seizing weapons from the facility.
Subsequently, 34 additional checkpoints were established, and six more divisions were added under the Border Guard Post (1) command. In addition to the Border Guard Police personnel, soldiers from the Myanmar military also joined forces and carried out coordinated operations in the area.
These operations took place along the 168.57-mile stretch of the Myanmar-Bangladesh border, from the Bay of Bengal and the Naf River in the south, extending 39.82 miles north to the mouth of the Naf River. The operations covered the distance between Border Point BP-31 on the Myanmar-Bangladesh border to Border Point BP-73 at the tri-border area of Myanmar, Bangladesh, and India, spanning 128.75 miles.
As part of the “1027 Military Operation” led by the Three Brotherhood Alliances, including the Arakan Army (AA), on November 13 of the previous year, the AA launched an attack and seized a border guard post and military encampment of the junta located along the Maungdaw-Angumaw road in the Arakan region.
Starting from that day, battles took place between the Myanmar military forces from Battalion 232, under the command of the Regional Command Center of Sittwe city, and the Arakan Army (AA) near Thanbawla village in Maungdaw Township.
In that battle, around 14 soldiers from the Myanmar military, including Deputy Military Officer Kyaw Thet Naing, were killed. Additionally, military equipment such as firearms, ammunition, and other supplies were seized, while some soldiers sustained injuries.
The entire border guard post command was attacked by the Arakan Army from November 13, 2023, to December 8, 2024, over a span of nearly one year and one month.
In the decisive battle of Arakan, the Arakan Army (AA) successfully seized and fully secured the Arakan-Bangladesh border, as well as the Arakan-India-Bangladesh tri-border area. This led to the Arakan region being effectively liberated to some extent, as recognized by the international community.
The Arakan Army (AA) has fully attacked and seized two military command centers, including the Border Guard Command Center. Following this, they have continued their operations, attacking and attempting to fully seize one more military command center and a regional military command center.
