Arakan News Agency | Exclusive
The Arakan Army, a separatist armed group, arrested 60 Rohingya farmers on Friday while they were working in their fields and rice paddies in the villages of Sin Nying Bya and Tha Vait Taung, located in Buthidaung Township, Arakan State, western Myanmar.
Local residents told Arakan News Agency that around 50 Arakan Army members raided the farmlands and detained about 60 individuals, including landowners and laborers, taking them to an unknown location.
They reported that the arrests occurred amid heavy rains and flooding in the area, which severely damaged rice crops. In response, Rohingya farmers had been trying to salvage and replant their crops with the help of laborers.
Eyewitnesses said the detainees were not given any prior warning from the Arakan Army prohibiting access to their farmland, despite the fact that residents pay monthly taxes in order to work on their land.
Among those detained were four members of a single family, they added, noting that the Arakan Army initially held the group overnight in the village of Kyauk Sar Taing before transferring them to an undisclosed location believed to be within Buthidaung Township.
“During the transfer, night watchmen in the villages were ordered to remain indoors. The current whereabouts and conditions of the detainees remain unknown,” they added.
The Arakan Army has controlled approximately 90% of Arakan State for the past year, including the town of Buthidaung, amid ongoing conflict with the Myanmar military over control of the region and the pursuit of autonomy.
Under Arakan Army rule, the Rohingya community has suffered widespread abuses, including arbitrary house closures based on false complaints, seizure of properties, displacement of numerous families, and severe restrictions on movement between villages enforced through a network of checkpoints at every Rohingya village entrance and exit.
The Arakan Army launched a military campaign in November 2023 to wrest control of the state from the Myanmar military, successfully capturing 14 out of 17 townships. The conflict has deeply affected the Rohingya, who have been subjected to violence, forced displacement, and persecution by both sides. This follows the 2017 campaign of genocide by the Myanmar military, which forced nearly one million Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh.
