The Arakan Army (AA), a major ethnic militia in Myanmar’s restive Rakhine state, on Tuesday joined other ethnic groups in condemning last month’s military coup and the ensuing violent crackdown on protesters.

While several other armed groups fighting long-running wars in Myanmar's borderlands have signalled their support for pro-democracy protests, the AA, which had agreed a ceasefire with the government ousted on Feb. 1, had not commented publicly.