February 9, 2018
The military has confiscated all agricultural land in the Rohingya settlement of Ali Yaung in Southern Buthidaung. As a result, the Muslim population has lost all access from food, leading to fears of starvation. In recent days, many Rohingyas have fled the southern Buthidaung area after the military cut them off completely from access to food.
The settlement, although in a remote hilly region once had a population of almost 3000 adults. But it was at the receiving end of a brutal offensive by Tatmadaw led forces which resulted in at least scores of casualties as the armed forces turned on machine gun fire at fleeing Rohingyas. Many of the young men and women were abducted, the latter being raped.
The abducted men are thought to have faced inhumane torture and many are dead by now, according to multiple sources.
The offensive forced the Rohingyas to flee the region by making a fortnight long journey through the rough terrain, resulting in deaths for many especially infant children. The escapees later entered Bangladesh through making another risky journey across the Bay of Bengal.
The remaining population is now being used as slave labour to farm what was once Rohingya owned agricultural land. The labourers are not being paid any money for their work and many are tilling what used to be previously their own land. However there are concerns they will not receive the production as the government has long used food as a weapon against Rohingyas.
Altogether around 300 acres of land have been confiscated.
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