Operation Clean and Beautiful Nation

Part of the Rohingya insurgency in Western Myanmar

Date

1991

Location

Northern Rakhine State,
Bangladesh-Myanmar border

Result

Burmese tactical failure

Failure to disarm and expel the RSO

Belligerents

Myanmar (SLORC)

Rohingya Solidarity Organisation

Commanders and leaders

Saw Maung

Muhammad Yunus

Casualties and losses

200,000–250,000 displaced

Burmese tactical failure

Operation Clean and Beautiful Nation, also known as Operation Pyi Thaya (Burmese: ပြည်သာယာ စစ်ဆင်ရေး), was a large scale military operation conducted by the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Armed Forces) in northern Rakhine State, near Myanmar's border with Bangladesh. The operation took place in 1991 under the military junta of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), officially as a response to the military expansion of the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO).

Similar to Operation King Dragon in 1978, the government's official explanation for the operation was to disarm and expel Rohingya insurgents (specifically of the RSO) from the area. The resulting violence however, resulted in 200,000 to 250,000 civilians being displaced (most of whom fled to neighbouring Bangladesh) and failed to prevent further attacks by the RSO, which continued until the end of the 1990s.

In December 1991, Tatmadaw soldiers crossed the border and accidentally fired on a Bangladeshi military outpost, causing a brief strain in Bangladesh-Myanmar relations.

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