Arakan News Agency | Exclusive
Local residents in Maungdaw city, Arakan State, western Myanmar, report that Buddhist Arakan militias (Arakan Army), in cooperation with some local Arakanese residents, have been breaking into the homes of Rohingya internally displaced persons (IDPs) at night, stealing valuable belongings, and selling them in markets as if they were their own property.
Speaking to Arakan News Agency, residents said Arakan Army members targeted abandoned homes of displaced Rohingya who have not been allowed to return from refugee camps in Bangladesh, seizing cars, motorcycles, furniture, household items, raw materials, and even clothing, before selling them openly after storing them in their offices.
The Arakan Army has also sealed off the homes of Rohingya businessmen and confiscated their property. Prominent local supporters, including a man named Alamgir, participated in looting operations in neighborhoods such as Kanyin Tan, Maung Ni, Feyzi, and other areas of the city.
Residents added that some of the stolen goods are being sold openly in front of their rightful Rohingya owners, who remain silent out of fear of retaliation, stressing that the situation reflects ongoing abuses against them even after their displacement.
Since the Arakan Army took control of Maungdaw on December 8 last year, it has continued abuses against the Rohingya, including sealing their homes after false accusations, seizing them, confiscating valuable property, and forcing many families into homelessness.
Strict movement restrictions have also been imposed on the Rohingya, barring them from traveling between villages and confining them through a network of security checkpoints at the entrances and exits of each Rohingya village. Fees have been imposed on Rohingya pedestrians and motorcycle owners to cross bridges.
The Arakan Army launched a military campaign in November 2023 against the Myanmar military to seize control of the state, capturing 14 out of 17 towns. The conflict has also engulfed the Rohingya, who have suffered violence, forced displacement, and persecution from both sides on top of the “genocide” carried out by the Myanmar military in 2017, which forced nearly one million to flee to Bangladesh.
