By: Camp Correspondent
Maungdaw, Rakhine State – February 12, 2025
Local sources report that Arakan Army (AA) soldiers in northern Maungdaw have been forcefully entering Rohingya-owned shops—particularly in Pyin Phyu village and surrounding areas—and seizing goods without payment. According to eyewitness accounts, soldiers operating from Chaung Wa camps, which fall under AA’s Area 4 control, are taking items by force. While some soldiers may offer minimal payments, many shop owners face threats and verbal abuse when they request proper compensation.
One shop owner explained,
“When we ask for payment, they get angry and threaten us. They say, ‘Why are you asking for money?’ Some soldiers, often drunk, take whatever they want and warn us that complaining will be useless.”
In addition to the seizures, the situation has worsened due to reports of forced labor in nearby villages. Residents from Kyauk Hle Khar, Magyi Chaung, Hla Baw Zar, and Paung Zar villages have reportedly been compelled to work for AA forces. Traditionally, around 50 men from each village were taken for labor every month. However, since February 8, 2025, nearly 100 Rohingya men from Paung Zar and Magyi Chaung are being taken daily to work at AA camps near the border fence.
A local villager described the forced labor conditions:
“They are making us clear forests, dig trenches, and repair their roads. Most of us rely on daily work to feed our families, but now we are being forced to work without pay, and our families are struggling with hunger.”
These escalating abuses—both the forcible seizure of goods and the imposition of forced labor—have left many Rohingya in northern Maungdaw in an increasingly desperate situation, with limited means to support their families and a constant fear of retaliation if they resist.
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