Arakan News Agency | Exclusive
On Tuesday, Buddhist Arakan militias (Arakan Army) forced residents of the Rohingya village of Du Nyaung Pan Gyi, south of Maungdaw in Arakan State, to stand in open fields under the scorching sun from 8 a.m. until after 2 p.m. Several young men were arrested before the rest of the detainees were later released.
Local residents said the militias surrounded the villages entirely, forcing all inhabitants—including infants and the elderly—out of their homes, depriving them of food and water, while carrying out house-to-house searches.
They told Arakan News Agency that furniture and belongings were destroyed, and that detainees were beaten and abused in the fields regardless of their age.
These raids came after Arakan militias accused the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) of killing a man from the Arakan ethnic group while fishing on August 10—a claim locals say is fabricated and used as a pretext to attack Rohingya villages.
Last week, the Arakan Army conducted similar operations in the Soka, Myo-U, and Harbi areas of Maungdaw, where they broke into the homes of displaced Rohingya and damaged toilets and bathrooms.
Rohingya community members warn that such violations—alongside blockades, the spread of rumors, and propaganda on social media—are aimed at stoking tensions between communities and paving the way for a new wave of mass killings or an outright genocide plan.
Since the Arakan Army seized control of Maungdaw on December 8, it has continued abuses against the Rohingya, including locking up their homes after false complaints, confiscating them, seizing valuables, and displacing many families.
It has also imposed strict restrictions on the movement of Rohingya, banning travel between villages and enforcing these limits through a network of security checkpoints at every Rohingya village entrance and exit. Additionally, it has imposed tolls 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 faced violence, forced displacement, and persecution from both sides after already enduring a 2017 campaign of “genocide” by the Myanmar military that drove nearly one million to flee to Bangladesh.
