By: Camp Correspondent
Sittwe, Rakhine State — May 15, 2025
The Myanmar military has intensified restrictions on Rohingya Muslims in Sittwe, barring them from traveling for medical treatment, education, or personal emergencies, while simultaneously forcibly recruiting youth and former prisoners into military service, according to local sources.
Since the February 2021 military coup, the Form 4 travel permit system—a mandatory document for Rohingya to move outside their townships—has been effectively shut down. Without it, even critically ill patients cannot legally travel to cities like Yangon for life-saving treatment.
“Earlier, I waited 45 days and paid money just to get permission to travel for medical care,” said a Rohingya man from Sittwe.
“Now we can’t even apply. The officers just stall, demand bribes, and eventually deny permission.”
Locals say many families have been financially ruined trying to obtain Form 4 permissions, often selling their belongings in desperation—only to watch loved ones die without access to care.
“One patient died while waiting for approval. The family sold everything to try and save him,” a resident told Rohingya Khobor.
“This system is designed to punish us silently.”
In parallel with these travel bans, the Myanmar military has begun coercing young Rohingya men into conscription, allegedly to prepare for potential conflict with the Arakan Army (AA). Community members say men are also being forced into auxiliary “security teams” aligned with the junta’s local operations.
Even former prisoners, released under a recent general amnesty, are notallowed to return home. Instead, they are reportedly being detained in Sittwe and pressed into military service against their will, raising serious concerns of forced conscription and violations of international law.
Rights observers warn that these tactics—travel suppression, economic extortion, and forced recruitment—are part of a broader system of control targeting Rohingya civilians, particularly in areas still under junta authority.
“They are turning poverty and restriction into a weapon,” said one elder. “They block our movement, take our sons, and punish us for being who we are.”
