Arakan News Agency | Exclusive
A commanding officer of the Arakan Buddhist militia threatened to “wipe out” Rohingya communities if they continue sharing information about atrocities in Arakan, according to a village administrator who attended a closed meeting in Buthidaung city, Arakan.
On 10 September, during a meeting with village administrators in the group’s Administration Division 6 in Buthidaung, the militia’s commanding officer Mg Saing Shwe ordered strict control over the flow of information to the outside world.
One meeting participant told Arakan News Agency that Mg Saing Shwe angrily referred to the leak of videos and images from the Htan Shauk Kan massacre, in which more than 600 Rohingya were reportedly killed.
“Because of your fake news spreading, cases for issuing arrest warrant against our generals are being tried to file. Don’t think of our generals. Even if a normal militia member suffers because of your news, we will not care. We will not think to wipe out all Muslims (Rohingyas)”, the officer reportedly stated.
The commander also threatened to confiscate even licensed phones devices officially registered with the militia, accusing Rohingya of “using phones as weapons” to spread reports of abuses.
“We allowed you to help fill your needs, now I think we need to deal you with pressure. As you couldn’t beat us in other ways, now you are using phones as weapon and spread news against us?”, he further told the administrators.
The threats come amid reports of legal cases being prepared against the militia’s generals for the Htan Shauk Kan Massacre, in which photo depicting skulls and skeletons were published by Rohingya activists and human rights organizations. The photos uncovered a massacre by Arakan Militias in the village during the attack on it on May 2, 2024, according to the Arakan Rohingya National Council (ARNC).
The militia has introduced strict communication control policies in northern Arakan targeting Rohingya; Rohingya residents must pay 300,000 MMK (US$75) per month to register phones in Buthidaung city. Registered users are required to submit personal information and register and report everything any caller says during the call and to whom the calls are made. They must also register all callers’ personal information ranging from names to addresses. Also, Licensed phones must remain in roadside shops, and unauthorized use of cellular networks is punishable by detention or heavy fines. Multiple Rohingya have been detained for attempting to use unlicensed phones, residents told ANA.
Since early 2024, during the conflict between Arakan Buddhist militia group and Myanmar Military, Arakan has faced a near-total internet blackout. The northern Arakan areas now depend almost entirely on weak Bangladeshi cellular signals that provide only minimal bandwidth. While in some specific areas of Maungdaw, the internet can be accessed, but in Buthidaung the network is only available to voice-only service.
Under Arakan Army control, Rohingya face widespread abuses, including the closure of homes following false complaints, seizure of property, displacement of many families, and severe restrictions on their movement between villages, enforced through a network of security checkpoints at the entrances and exits of every Rohingya village.
The militias launched a military campaign in November 2023 against the Myanmar military to seize control of the state, succeeding in taking 14 out of 17 townships. The conflict has engulfed Rohingya communities, who have suffered violence, forced displacement, and persecution at the hands of both sides after already being subjected to a “genocide” campaign by the Myanmar military in 2017 that forced nearly one million to flee to Bangladesh.
