A powerful ethnic armed group fighting Myanmar’s military government in western Rakhine state claimed to have captured a town near the Bangladesh border on May 18, 2024, marking the latest in a series of victories for enemies of Myanmar’s military government the country. File | Photo credit: AP
Rohingya activists on May 22 accused an ethnic armed group from Myanmar of driving out thousands of persecuted minorities in western Rakhine state, after the United States said the group was experiencing rising violence.
Conflicts have rocked Rakhine since the Arakan Army (AA) attacked junta forces in November, ending a ceasefire that has largely held since a 2021 military coup.
The AA says it is fighting for greater autonomy for the ethnic Rakhine population in the state, which is also home to about 6,00,000 members of the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority.
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled Rakhine in 2017 during a military crackdown that is now the subject of a genocide lawsuit at the United Nations.
A joint statement from several foreign-based Rohingya organizations said AA fighters last week forced Rohingya residents to leave Buthidaung town and then burned and looted their homes.
It said the Rohingya were then led by the fighters into areas under AA control.
The statement called on the AA to end “forced displacement and human rights violations” against the Rohingya.
The AA said it captured Buthidaung last week, its latest victory over the junta in Rakhine state.
It said it had warned city residents to leave and then “helped people move to safer areas”, but gave no details.
It accused the junta of destroying Buthidaung and of inciting “racial and religious violence” by recruiting “Bengali Muslims” to fight the AA.
The Rohingya view the word “Bengali” as a slur that implies they are invaders in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.
The Rohingya groups’ statement also accused the junta of hiring “several thousand” Rohingya to fight and using them as “cannon fodder.”
The junta did not respond to requests for comment on the latest clashes around Buthidaung.
AFP has also contacted the AA for comment.
The latest clashes have killed hundreds of people and displaced at least 3 million across Rakhine since they began in November, according to the United Nations.
Internet and telephone networks are virtually scattered across parts of the state, making communication difficult.
‘Creating tension’
The US State Department on Tuesday cited reports of towns being burned and residents, including Rohingya people, displaced.
The UN human rights chief issued a similar warning last weekend, saying tensions were high between ethnic Rakhine and Rohingya and were being fueled by Myanmar’s military junta.
“The military’s past acts of genocide and other crimes against humanity against the Rohingya, along with its history of fueling communal tensions in Rakhine, underscore the grave dangers to civilians,” said ministry spokesman Matthew Miller. of Foreign Affairs, in a statement.
“The current increased violence and communal tensions also increase the risk that further atrocities will occur,” he added.
Mr Miller called on the junta and all armed groups to protect civilians and allow unhindered humanitarian access.
The AA is one of several armed ethnic minority groups in Myanmar’s border areas, many of which have battled the military over autonomy and control over lucrative resources since independence from Britain in 1948.
Clashes between the AA and the military displaced around 2,00,000 people in 2019.
