Arakan News Agency | Exclusive
Rohingya residents in the town of Maungdaw, in western Myanmar’s Arakan State, have accused several village officials recently appointed by the Arakan Army of being involved in various violations, including corruption and abuse of power.
They told Arakan News Agency that many of these officials were appointed without consulting or considering the will of local residents. Some of them, they said, were known to be close to the former military junta or had been involved in drug trafficking and were previously accused in criminal cases.
Residents also pointed out that local officials in the villages of Kyauk Hlay Gar, Ohnthakyaw, and Shwe Zar have been exploiting their positions to enforce mandatory night guard duties, forcibly collect donations from villagers, and monopolize humanitarian aid sent to these villages by relief organizations such as sacrificial meat distributed during Eid al-Adha.
In Ohnthakyaw village, two officials, Motiraman and Abu, reportedly attempted to seize agricultural land owned by Rohingya families through pressure and intimidation, including 31 acres belonging to two Rohingya families.
Local activists and former officials have called on the Arakan Army to review its appointments, stressing the importance of choosing individuals of integrity who are respected by the community. They warned that continued violations could erode public trust and lead to worsening security and social conditions in the region.
Since the Arakan Army took control of Maungdaw on December 8 last year, it has continued to commit violations against the Rohingya, including locking their homes based on false complaints, seizing them, confiscating valuable possessions, and displacing many families.
Strict restrictions have been imposed on the Rohingya population, including a ban on movement between villages. This has been enforced through a network of security checkpoints at the entrances and exits of every Rohingya village, along with fees imposed on pedestrians and Rohingya motorcycle owners for crossing bridges.
The Arakan Army launched a military campaign in November 2023 against the Myanmar military to take control of the state. It succeeded in capturing 14 out of 17 towns. The Rohingya have once again found themselves caught in the crossfire of the conflict, facing violence, forced displacement, and persecution from both sides after having already endured a campaign of genocide by the Myanmar military in 2017, which forced nearly one million of them to flee to Bangladesh.
