By: Camp Correspondent
Buthidaung, Rakhine State — 2 July 2025 | The Arakan Army (AA), which now controls large parts of Rakhine State, is reportedly continuing a campaign of forcibly displacing Rohingya families and resettling ethnic Rakhine households in their homes and farmlands, particularly in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships.
Rohingya residents say they are being forced out under threat of arrest, with little to no opportunity to reclaim their land or rebuild their lives.
“They told us to leave our homes immediately or face arrest,” said a displaced Rohingya man from Buthidaung. “I had no choice but to flee with my family. I was born here, and now I have nothing.”
While the AA has designated small plots of land on the eastern bank of the Mayu River for some displaced Rohingya, essential building materials and basic infrastructure have not been provided. Access to nearby forests for collecting firewood or bamboo has also been restricted, leaving families in increasingly desperate conditions.
“The shelters are overcrowded, and there are no proper toilets,” said a Rohingya woman living in one of the resettlement zones. “We are afraid of fires, illness, and theft. We asked AA officials for help, but they never responded.”
In stark contrast, ethnic Rakhine families from other areas, including Thandwe and Rathedaung, are being given two acres of farmland, farming tools, and financial aid to settle in formerly Rohingya-majority villages. Since May, large-scale resettlements have taken place in Maung Gyi Taung, Tat Min Chaung, and Khaing Chaung.
Local observers estimate that nearly 100,000 Rohingya have been displaced in recent months. Many have fled once again toward Bangladesh, unable to survive in the newly imposed conditions or denied the ability to return home.
In Buthidaung town, where much of the infrastructure was destroyed during the March 2024 clashes, the AA has allowed a limited number of Rohingya families to return, mostly near military installations or the partially intact Ward 5. However, the majority remain in tents and makeshift shelters amid the ruins of their former neighborhoods.
Human rights observers and community leaders warn that these actions represent a deliberate effort to alter the region’s demographics—a pattern that echoes the 2017 mass displacement of the Rohingya.
“This appears to be part of a larger plan to erase the Rohingya presence from northern Rakhine,” said one local activist. “Land is being taken. Homes are being reassigned. And our people are being pushed to the margins—again.”
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