(March–June 2025)
Introduction: A Dangerous Shift in Power
For the Rohingya of Rakhine State, history has repeated itself—only this time, with a different perpetrator. Between March and June 2025, Myanmar’s Rohingya population has endured a staggering wave of violence, displacement, starvation, and despair—not at the hands of the Myanmar military junta alone, but now increasingly from the Arakan Army (AA). Once seen as a rebel force fighting for Rakhine autonomy, the AA is now responsible for widespread atrocities that mirror the Myanmar military’s genocidal campaign of 2017.
As the AA tightens its grip over Rakhine State, especially in the north, a disturbing pattern of ethnic persecution has emerged. Entire villages have been burned to the ground. Thousands have been forced to flee, many never to return. Children and youth have been forcibly recruited, and hunger stalks the internally displaced, as humanitarian aid is blocked or denied. The Rohingya, long trapped in statelessness and systemic abuse, now find themselves cornered by yet another force of oppression.
A. Displacement, Arson, and Destruction
Between March and June 2025, more than 200,000 Rohingya have been internally displaced as AA fighters reportedly torched homes, shops, and entire villages in Buthidaung and surrounding areas. Eyewitnesses, satellite imagery, and human rights monitors describe systematic patterns of arson—roofs burnt to ashes, neighborhoods razed to the ground, communities uprooted overnight.
These are not random acts of war. Human rights groups warn this is a “deliberate campaign to remove the Rohingya from their ancestral lands”—language chillingly reminiscent of the 2017 atrocities committed by the Myanmar military. And while the world’s attention has remained fixated on the junta, a new persecutor has emerged, emboldened by its recent territorial victories and a vacuum of accountability.
B. Death at Sea: Fleeing One Horror, Meeting Another
In early May 2025, two boats packed with Rohingya fleeing Rakhine capsized off the coast of Myanmar. Over 400 people are feared dead. Survivors told of hunger, fear, and desperation—driven not only by persecution but by hunger and the knowledge that death on land was as likely as death at sea.
These weren’t isolated tragedies. According to the UNHCR, nearly one in five Rohingya who attempted sea crossings this year have died or gone missing. Human rights organizations link this directly to AA violence and the suffocating humanitarian blockade imposed in many areas under AA control.
C. Hunger as a Weapon: Aid Blockades and Starvation
In places like Pauktaw and Sittwe, the Rohingya are starving. The World Food Programme has slashed food rations due to funding shortfalls. The AA, now in control of many former military zones, is accused of maintaining and even worsening discriminatory practices against Rohingya. Humanitarian access is restricted. The term “Rohingya” itself is reportedly banned in some AA-held areas—a disturbing echo of previous state-sponsored identity erasure.
BROUK (Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK) has documented dozens of starvation deaths and warns the real number could be far higher. The Rohingya, already surviving on the margins, are being pushed to the brink by policies that appear to aim at ethnic cleansing through deprivation.
D. Enslavement, Exploitation, and Recruitment
Reports have surfaced of the AA forcibly recruiting Rohingya youth and detaining civilians suspected of links to the Myanmar army. In one case, 80 men were reportedly rounded up in Buthidaung and detained without charge. The choices for many Rohingya men are grim: join the AA, face reprisal, or attempt to flee—often at great personal risk.
The AA’s abuses don’t end with forced labor. Multiple credible sources, including BROUK and international rights groups, allege that AA commanders have profited from human trafficking networks—charging bribes to allow desperate Rohingya to flee areas they themselves terrorized. Extortion has become a business model; suffering, a source of income.
E. A Broader Crisis of Accountability
Despite these damning revelations, the Arakan Army has largely escaped the scrutiny and sanctions applied to the Myanmar military. This disparity has not gone unnoticed. On May 30, 2025, 26 Rohingya organizations issued a joint call for Western nations to impose sanctions on the AA and its leadership. BROUK further emphasized that this lack of international response “emboldens the AA to carry on.”
Human rights bodies warn that this impunity risks deepening the cycle of atrocity. Unless the international community recalibrates its response to include all perpetrators—not just the junta—the Rohingya will remain unprotected, their suffering prolonged.
F. No Safe Return, No Future in Sight
More than 118,000 new Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since March, adding to the nearly one million already living in refugee camps. But the Government of Bangladesh has signaled that it cannot support further influxes, while resettlement and repatriation efforts remain frozen.
The AA’s increasing control over the Bangladesh-Myanmar border and its reported rejection of repatriation efforts present a sobering reality: for the Rohingya, there is currently no way back—and no clear path forward. Stateless and scapegoated, they face a future in limbo unless global policy shifts from temporary containment to long-term protection and justice.
Table: Atrocities by the Arakan Army (March–June 2025)
| Incident Type | Date/Location | Victims/Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Mass Drowning | May 9–10, Bay of Bengal | Over 400 feared dead in two capsizing incidents |
| Forced Displacement | March–June, Rakhine State | >200,000 internally displaced |
| Flight to Bangladesh | March–June | >118,000 Rohingya fled |
| Starvation Deaths | 2025, Pauktaw/Sittwe camps | 25 deaths from starvation, 7 from untreated illness |
| Forced Recruitment | May 2025, Buthidaung | ~80 detained, suspected of former army links |
| Human Trafficking/Bribery | March–June, AA-controlled zones | AA profiteering from smuggling Rohingya out |
| Land Seizures | March–June, Buthidaung | Thousands denied return; land appropriated |
Conclusion: A People Abandoned, Again
Between March and June 2025, the Arakan Army has transformed from a regional resistance force to a perpetrator of systematic persecution against the Rohingya. Their actions—marked by brutality, ethnic targeting, and humanitarian obstruction—mirror the Myanmar military’s 2017 genocide.
The international community must not repeat the mistakes of the past. Silence will not shield the vulnerable. The Rohingya deserve more than political statements—they deserve action. They deserve justice. And most importantly, they deserve the right to exist safely, with dignity, in the land they call home.
