Rohingya Face Forced Relocation by Arakan Army

Tensions are escalating in northern Maungdaw Township as Rohingya communities in at least six villages are reportedly facing forced relocation by the Arakan Army (AA). The alarming development comes as monsoon rains pound western Myanmar, worsening already dire humanitarian conditions and raising the specter of mass displacement.

According to verified local sources and reports from Development Media Group, the AA has issued directives ordering Rohingya residents to vacate their homes and farmland, allegedly for “security reasons.” These orders, however, have sparked panic and resistance among villagers, many of whom have nowhere else to go and are already living in fragile conditions.

“We have been told to leave immediately,” said one resident from the Aung Bala area. “But where should we go? The rains are destroying the roads, and the camps are already full.”

The villages identified under immediate threat include:

Aung Bala (Pan Zin)

Sin Thay Pyin

Nga Khu Ya

Laung Don

Hpar Wut Chaung

Mingalar Nyunt

These areas, largely inhabited by displaced Rohingya families who never received formal resettlement, are now facing eviction by a new regional power: the Arakan Army, an ethnic Rakhine armed group that has taken control over much of northern Rakhine State in recent months.

The forced relocation orders have come at the height of the monsoon season, when roads are washed out, flooding is widespread, and shelter becomes a matter of survival. Aid groups have warned that any mass displacement now could lead to catastrophic health and food insecurity, especially among children and elderly residents.

“This is not just relocation—it’s a humanitarian crisis in the making,” said a Rohingya humanitarian worker based in Maungdaw, who requested anonymity for security reasons.

The Arakan Army has increasingly asserted administrative control in Rakhine State, often excluding Rohingya communities from participation or protection. While the AA claims to oppose the Myanmar junta, its treatment of Rohingya civilians has raised serious concerns, including reports of forced labor, restrictions on movement, and now, expulsion from villages.

International human rights observers have cautioned that the AA’s actions could mirror the same oppressive tactics used by the Burmese military, creating a new layer of ethnic domination under a different flag.

Residents in affected villages say they feel abandoned and surrounded—caught between a military junta that considers them illegal, an armed ethnic group that marginalizes them, and an international community that remains largely silent.

“First the military burned our homes. Now the Arakan Army tells us to leave again. We are tired of running,” said a village elder in Sin Thay Pyin.

Rohingya activists and humanitarian groups are urging UN agencies, ASEAN, and the International Red Cross to immediately intervene and prevent further displacement. They call for:

International monitoring access to northern Arakan

Emergency aid and shelter provisions ahead of further monsoon impacts

Inclusion of Rohingya in all local governance and peacebuilding efforts

“The world must understand that this is not a safe zone. Arakan is becoming a new front of silent ethnic cleansing,” warned Ro Mayyu Islam, a Rohingya political analyst and founder of the Rohingya Genocide Prevention Research Network (RGPRN).

Rohingya Vision News