By: Hafizur Rahman
Maungdaw, Arakan State – July 24, 2025
In yet another disturbing development, the Arakan Army (AA/ULA) has detained 25 Rohingya families in Maungdaw town and transferred them to Buthidaung, where they are being subjected to forced labor, according to local sources.
The families, originally from Ward No. 2 and Maung Ni Ward of Maungdaw, had previously fled the area during armed conflict but later returned with AA’s permission after the group seized full control of the township in December 2024. Despite recording their personal details months ago, the AA has yet to issue household registration documents—leaving the families vulnerable and effectively undocumented.
On July 22, the heads of these families were summoned for “questioning.” While they were allowed to return home that day, they were ordered to report again the following morning. On July 23, not only the male heads, but also women and children were called in and taken to the Maungdaw central police station. From there, all were transferred to Buthidaung—except for one elderly man and a woman in critical health, who were later released.
The remaining detainees—entire families—are now reportedly being held in Buthidaung prison and forced to perform physically exhausting and degrading labor. Tasks include clearing bushes, cleaning roadside drains, and performing sanitation work around the town—jobs that are not only unpaid but also enforced under detention conditions.
“These families returned in good faith, thinking they would be allowed to rebuild their lives. Instead, they’ve been rounded up, humiliated, and made to work like convicts,” said a local elder, deeply shaken by the news.
Residents allege that while civilians from various ethnic groups—including Rakhine and Hindu families—have also returned to Maungdaw since the fighting stopped, only the Rohingya are being arbitrarily detained and forced into labor.
“This is a new form of apartheid,” said a Rohingya teacher familiar with the case. “They are targeting us under the excuse of documentation, even though they themselves allowed us to return. Now they’re using us as a labor force.”
The AA’s actions are drawing comparisons to tactics previously used by the Myanmar military, which regularly conscripted Rohingya men for forced labor, including roadwork and portering under violent conditions. Observers warn that despite presenting itself as a revolutionary force against oppression, the AA is replicating many of the same authoritarian practices—this time under a different flag.
“There is no justification for detaining women and children and forcing them to clean roads,” said a local human rights advocate. “This is not governance—it is ethnic domination cloaked in administrative control.”
The incident has sparked renewed calls for international attention and urgent monitoring of abuses under AA-controlled territories, especially as more Rohingya families remain at risk of similar detention and exploitation.
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