By: Camp Correspondent
16 June 2025
In northern Maungdaw, the Arakan Army (AA) has started fining Rohingya villagers for traveling between communities without official permits—deepening the daily hardships faced by families already trapped in conflict and poverty.
Local residents report that the AA has established checkpoints in villages including Thayetoke, Hla Poe Kaung, and Tho O Hla, where travelers must present permission slips issued by local administrators. Those found without proper documents are fined 50,000 kyats and forced to return home. Even obtaining a travel permit costs 5,000 kyats—an unaffordable amount for many impoverished households.
“We can’t even go to the market to buy food unless we pay for a permit,” said a man from Thayetoke. “If we travel without it, they stop us and take whatever little money we have.”
On June 13, three men from Thayetoke were fined and turned back while heading to the Kyauk Lay Gar market. A day earlier, two others from Tho O Hla were reportedly detained for several hours under similar accusations.
The Kyauk Lay Gar market is one of the few remaining sources of essential goods for communities like Thayetoke, Tho O Hla, Ywet Nyo Taung, and Myaw Taung. But access is now severely restricted due to checkpoints and ongoing conflict.
“Prices are rising, and food is becoming scarce,” said a woman from Myaw Taung. “Now we’re being stopped even from trying to bring something home for our children.”
In desperation, some villagers have begun smuggling basic supplies across the Bangladesh border. But with the Arakan Army tightening movement restrictions, even that risky option is becoming harder to pursue.
For many Rohingya families, the new travel rules have become yet another obstacle in their daily struggle for survival amid ongoing violence and growing uncertainty.
