By: Camp Correspondent
Maungdaw, Arakan State — July 8, 2025
The Arakan Army (AA) has introduced a new restriction requiring Rohingya residents near Maungdaw town in western Myanmar’s Arakan State to obtain paid travel permits to enter the area, further tightening control over an already marginalized community.
According to local sources, Rohingya are now barred from entering Maungdaw without official permits issued directly by AA-controlled administrative offices. Previously, Rohingya representatives handled the permit process, but since July 1, their authority has been revoked.
Permit costs vary between 35,000 and 70,000 kyats depending on duration and destination. A resident from Byin Phyu village said he was forced to pay 35,000 kyats for a single-day permit and warned he would be fined an additional 1,000 kyats for each day of overstay. Another resident from Ba Nyawng Bin Gyi, who traveled to Bangladesh for medical treatment, said he paid 105,000 kyats and was threatened with a 17,500 kyat fine if he exceeded the permitted timeframe.
“I had to pay 35,000 kyats just to enter Maungdaw for one day. They told me if I stayed longer, I’d have to pay more. We are treated like prisoners in our own land,” a resident told Rohingya Khobor.
These restrictions reportedly apply to numerous villages across both northern and southern Maungdaw, including Ban Taw Bin, Ma Kyee Chaung, Paung Zar, and Mangala Gyi. Community members say the system further burdens a population already suffering from decades of persecution, movement restrictions, and economic hardship.
“I needed a permit for medical treatment, and they charged me 105,000 kyats,” said a man from Ba Nyawng Bin Gyi village. “We are already struggling to survive, now we must pay just to move. This is not right.”
Since seizing control of Maungdaw on December 8, the Arakan Army has been accused of numerous human rights abuses, including arbitrary arrests, property seizures, and forced displacement. Movement within and between villages is heavily restricted through a network of checkpoints, where fees are collected even from pedestrians and motorcycle users. Tolls are also imposed at key bridge crossings.
“Since the Arakan Army took over, everything has changed,” said a resident of Ma Kyee Chaung. “Even moving from one village to another means passing checkpoints and paying money. We are suffering in silence, trapped between two forces.”
The broader conflict between the Arakan Army and Myanmar’s military, reignited in November 2023, has placed the Rohingya community in an increasingly vulnerable position. While the AA now controls most of northern Rakhine, Rohingya residents continue to face repression from both sides. Many have already endured the horrors of the 2017 military-led genocide that forced nearly one million Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh.
The newly imposed permit system only deepens the isolation, limiting access to essential services such as healthcare, education, and livelihood. Human rights groups and local residents are calling for urgent international attention to halt the exploitation and ensure protection for the Rohingya community in Maungdaw and beyond.
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