by Hafizur Rahman
Maungdaw, Arakan State — September 18, 2025: Rohingya villagers in Thi Hoe Kyunt, Maungdaw Township, reported that armed members of the Arakan Army carried out fresh attacks on Monday, destroying homes and leaving families further displaced. Community sources said fighters entered the village around 11:30 a.m., demolishing at least three houses before setting another ablaze later that night.
According to witnesses, the house of Rohingya businessman Eman Husson—who was abducted by the Arakan Army in September 2024—was engulfed in flames around 11:00 p.m. The cause of the blaze has not been confirmed. “We saw Arakan Army members destroying homes in the village when we went to collect firewood,” one villager recalled, describing how residents now feel they have lost even the little they had left.
A Village Emptied and Targeted Again
Thi Hoe Kyunt was among several Rohingya villages forcibly emptied in August 2024 during clashes between the Arakan Army and Myanmar’s military. Since then, returning has been banned, forcing many families to take shelter in nearby communities such as Habi. Villagers said the latest attack underscores the ongoing campaign of intimidation that has left them living in fear and exile.
Pattern of Abuse and Displacement
Since seizing control of Maungdaw, the Arakan Army has repeatedly been accused of abuses against the Rohingya. Homes have been confiscated, properties seized on fabricated complaints, and entire families expelled. Movement is also tightly restricted: checkpoints at village entrances force Rohingya to pay fees to cross bridges on foot or by motorcycle.
Community members say these tactics are designed to push Rohingya further from their land and erase their presence in northern Arakan. “Life as refugees is already unbearable,” one displaced villager said. “Now they destroy our homes so we have nothing left to return to.”
Trapped Between Warring Forces
The Arakan Army launched a military campaign against Myanmar’s junta in November 2023, capturing 14 of 17 towns in Arakan State. For the Rohingya, this has meant being trapped between two forces—both of which have subjected them to violence and displacement. Already survivors of the 2017 campaign of mass atrocities that forced nearly one million into Bangladesh, the Rohingya in Maungdaw now face fresh waves of destruction and persecution with no clear path to safety.
