Recent crimes in Myanmar’s western state of Rakhine appear to herald a new phase of bloodshed that, if the civil war between ethnic militias and the government ends, could threaten the entire nation. UN delegates have been discussing “frightening and disturbing reports” of attacks on Rohingya civilians by both the military of the country and the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic militia that controls a large portion of Rakhine.
Tom Andrews, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, said, “Once again, the world seems to be failing a desperate people in their hour of peril while a hate-driven unnatural disaster unfolds in real time in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.” “There are concerning and reliable reports of killings, enforced disappearances, and widespread arson emerging from Northern Rakhine,” Andrews continued.
According to the UN, a number of fires started in and around the city of Buthidaung and destroyed homes and crops, resulting in the displacement of almost 45,000 Rohingya residents. The AA, in turn, attributes the airstrikes to the junta, according to the Rohingya. Satellite photos depict the destruction left by the April and May fires, but trustworthy information is hard to come by because the military has barred access to the Internet.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ Liz Throssell stated that there are “clear and present risks of a serious expansion of violence” following the AA’s conquest of the city and the subsequent fighting in the nearby town of Maungdaw.
The International Crisis Group (ICG) published a report earlier this month that noted the rising tensions between the Muslim Rohingya and the predominantly Buddhist Rakhine, or AA, for some years. In contrast to other regions of the nation, Rakhine experienced bloodshed in November following the AA’s participation in an offensive against the Myanmar army alongside other ethnic militias.
Up until then, the AA and Myanmar’s military, which took over in a coup d’état in February 2021 and started the current fight, had been operating under a ceasefire, with the exception of a brief period in mid-2022. Ethnic militias have subsequently joined other armed organizations in opposing military rule, which seems to be under increasing pressure. Since 1948, these groups have been fighting for increased autonomy in their homelands, following their independence from the United Kingdom. The AA’s goal has long been to create an ethnic Rakhine state.
However, the Burmese government has refused to grant citizenship to 600,000 Rohingya people living within its borders, believing them to be undocumented immigrants from Bangladesh. In 2017, a military campaign of repression primarily targeted them, and the UN International Court of Justice is currently suing the military for genocide. In order to avoid persecution, at least 750,000 individuals moved to Bangladesh, a neighboring country.
However, in spite of this, a large number of Rohingya have enlisted in the army to battle the AA in recent months, when the junta forced conscription on both sexes in February due to a lack of manpower after three years of fighting. The majority of Rohingya enlistment is mandatory, but some volunteer.
The International Crisis Group notes in a study that “the regime has reportedly dangled the prospect of regular wages and, at least in some cases, the promise of citizenship,” yet “fear of and anger at the Arakan Army seems to be part of their motivation.” Prominent Rohingya community leaders who have ties to the armed forces have also been pushing young men to join.
Working with the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, a militia the military previously classified as a “terrorist organization,” whose attacks on security forces in 2017 served as justification for the campaign of repression against the Rohingya, the Myanmar military has fueled intercommunal tensions in an effort to weaken the AA. Twan Mrat Naing, an AA leader, has disparagingly referred to the Rohingya as “Bengalis” on numerous occasions. The military has been able to recruit fresh fighters from the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh as a result of the escalating rhetoric.
As many as 500 refugees have enlisted in this recruitment campaign, which has dramatically increased in recent days, according to the ICG report. “Sources in the camps told Crisis Group that in recent months, thousands of would-be fighters have crossed the border into Myanmar, including children as young as fourteen,” the report states. The majority of recruits have been forced into service against their will, but some Rohingya are responding to calls to fight for their homeland.
Many refugees are too afraid to leave their homes because of this open, forced recruitment that is taking place in the camps, but Bangladeshi law enforcement officials have not taken much action to halt it, the study continues. The AA’s attacks on civilians run the risk of increasing Rohingya recruitment and escalating the conflict. Many commentators have pointed out that the current state of affairs is similar to the years between 2012 and 2017, when sectarian conflict shook Rakhine.
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