Arakan Army Intensifies Oppression in Maungdaw

The Rohingya community in northern Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, Myanmar, continues to face escalating abuse from the Arakan Army (AA) as reports emerge of abductions, forced labor, and the seizing of farmlands and resources.

On October 25, a prominent Islamic scholar, Malawi Waiskorim, was forcibly taken from his shop in the Kyaw Hle Kha village market by armed AA members. Witnesses report that Waiskorim, originally from Mingalar Gyi village, was abducted based on fabricated accusations of collaborating with the Military Council. He was later transferred to an undisclosed location, preventing family members from contacting or even delivering food to him.

In addition to the abduction, since October 21, the AA has been conscripting Rohingya youth and elderly residents from Kyaw Hle Kha and Mingalar Gyi villages into forced labor. Around 135 individuals have been compelled to clear landmines around Battalion No. 05 and Gyi Ken Pyin village, risking their lives with minimal sustenance, as they are allowed only one meal per day. Villagers have reported that any refusal to participate in forced labor is met with severe punishment, including threats of being shot or detained by the AA.

Adding to these abuses, a new report from The Arakan Times on November 2 reveals that the AA has been raiding Rohingya farmlands in Abojja and Noyapara hamlets within Kyaw Hle Kha and Thet Yae Oke villages, regularly stealing vegetables cultivated by the Rohingya farmers. According to a resident of Abojja, AA members, often in groups of ten from Pyin Pyu village (also known as Naymay 06), forcibly take vegetables from the farmlands without any payment. When owners attempt to protest or request compensation, they are met with violence, including slaps and punches, and are threatened into submission. The AA claims ownership of the farmlands, asserting that the land and its resources belong to them.

In AA-controlled areas, the Rohingya community is subjected not only to forced labor and resource seizures but also faces coercive recruitment demands. Any resistance is met with gunpoint intimidation, forcing villagers to comply with the AA’s oppressive orders, leaving them in a state of ongoing fear and exploitation.

Rohingya Vision News