Myanmar Royal Dragon Army

The Myanmar Royal Dragon Army (MRDA; Burmese: မြန်မာ့တော်ဝင်နဂါးတပ်တော်), also known as Myanmar's Royal Dragon Army, was an armed resistance organisation based in Pale Township, Sagaing Region. It was founded on 1 January 2022 by its leader, Bo Nagar, and was under the command of the National Unity Government. The Myanmar Royal Dragon Army was reformed and renamed as the Burma National Revolutionary Army (BNRA; Burmese: ဗမာအမျိုးသားတော်လှန်ရေးတပ်မတော်) on September 9, 2023, becoming an ethnic armed organisation for the Bamar people.

History

In February 2022, the MRDA announced it had attacked two bases near the villages of Ziphyugone and Einmahti alongside another resistance groups. The MRDA claimed that around 40 junta troops and Pyusawhti militia members had been killed.

In late April 2022, the MRDA attacked a number of outposts in Pale held by the Tatmadaw and Pyusawhti, a pro-junta militia. The MRDA also ambushed junta forces which it claimed were raiding villages and burning civilian homes.

Reorganization

On 14 March 2022, MRDA troops from Yinmabin District were restructured into Yinmabin District People's Defence Force battalions- specifically Yinmabin PDF Battalions 3 through 6. The battalation were also additionally funded by the NUG on top of existing financial support from donations totaling around eUSD 260,000 to date.

Renaming

Later on 9 September 2023, Bo Nagar announced that the remaining parts of MRDA was to be renamed as the Burma National Revolutionary Army (BNRA) and stated that their group would not be under the NUG's chain of command. The BNRA intends to fight for the Bamar ethnicity in solidarity and cooperation with the whole country. Political analysts Than Soe Naing remarked this change as a step towards creating a Bamar EAO. The BNRA intends to fight for the Bamar ethnicity in solidarity and cooperation with the whole country. They intend to work together with the National Unity Government, with whom they met on September 12, 2023 to discuss integration of the BNRA into the NUG's Chain of Command.

References