Arakan Army Meeting in Buthidaung Raises Concerns Over Recruitment Pressure on Rohingya Families

by Hafizur Rahman

Buthidaung, Rakhine State | May 4, 2026

Residents in Buthidaung Township reported that the Arakan Army held a meeting in Poug Taw Pyin village, under Nga Yan Chaung village tract in the Taung Bazar area, where villagers were instructed to support its ongoing conflict with the Myanmar Junta.

According to multiple local sources, Arakan Army members told families during the meeting to send daughters for military-related training. The claim could not be independently verified, but residents described it as a direct instruction delivered in front of the community.

“They gathered people in the village and told us clearly that every family must support them,” one Rohingya resident told Rohingya Khobor. “We are very worried because they are asking for our daughters.”

Residents also said villagers were instructed to dig bunkers to protect themselves from possible airstrikes and attacks as fighting continues in the area.

“We are afraid of both sides,” another villager said. “If we don’t follow their orders, we may face problems, but if we agree, our families will suffer.”

Local sources described growing fear among Rohingya communities, who remain caught between armed actors as tensions escalate in Buthidaung.

Reports of forced support measures, including labor demands and recruitment pressure, have been increasingly raised in conflict-affected areas, highlighting the expanding control of armed groups over civilian life.