MAUNGDAW β Many abandoned houses and shops in several locations have been burnt to ashes recently in Northern Maungdaw and Buthidaung, Rakhine State, Rohingya Eye reported.
Those houses and shops belong to Rohingya who were forced out to Bangladesh by the military cleansing operation against the Muslim population of Arakan in 2017.
The locals from the neighborhood accuse the security forces of torching those villages and markets because of their doubtful movement around.
On March 31, 2020, at around 2:00 p.m. more than a hundred shops were burnt to the ground in Ngakura Market of Northern Maungdaw. After their owners were attacked and forcefully deported to Bangladesh in 2017, all the shops were left abandoned except some 20 lots.
A Sarapa (the Burmese acronym for military intelligence) office is located behind market, from where the arson started. Some eyewitnesses told Rohingya Vision that they have observed the Sarapa members and their hangers-on moving curiously around the western corner shortly before the fire broke out there.
Reportedly, as the majority of the shops belong to Rohingyas, there are also some Buddhist who have been trying in collaboration with Sarapa to move the market to the Buddhist village and build separately. This could also be the motive to this arson attack.
The next day, almost all the uninhabited houses in two hamlets of Ngar Sar Kyu Village Tract, Northern Maungdaw.
On April 29, 2020, all the uninhabited houses in four hamlets around Mee Chaung Zay (Mingi Zee) of Nothern Buthidaung were also burnt to ashes, according to the source.
In both locations security forces were seen before the burning, according locals.
βAs the militaryβs bulldozing of those villages was criticized and perhaps this may be a new tactic to seize those lands and use for military-backed projects.β said an observer from the ground.
More Stories
Rohingya Fleeing to Bangladesh Extorted by AA
The Rohingya community in Maungdaw Township is living through unimaginable hardship. As the conflict between the Myanmar military and the...
AA Abducts Hundreds of Rohingya in Maungdaw
On the night of July 19, 2024, the Arakan Army (AA) launched a large-scale abduction in Gyi Ken Pyin village,...
Rohingya Villages Burned By AA in Maungdaw
The ongoing conflict between the Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar military has turned Maungdaw Township into a war zone,...
BROUK Calls for Humanitarian Intervention in Arakan
Arakan State β The UK-based Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK) is urgently calling for international intervention to address the escalating...
Rohingya Killed And Dozens Injured in Maungdaw
On August 14th, 2024, a violent clash between the Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar military in Maungdaw Township, Arakan...
Rohingya Evacuated from Maungdaw Abducted by AA
Several Rohingya who were relocated from Maungdaw downtown have reportedly been abducted by the Arakan Army (AA) in Maungdaw Township,...