By: Camp Correspondent
Maungdaw, Rakhine State — June 14, 2025
Rohingya residents in northern Maungdaw are facing growing restrictions on their freedom of movement, as the Arakan Army (AA) imposes steep travel fines and strict checkpoint controls, according to multiple local sources.
Villagers attempting to travel even short distances between communities are being stopped by AA personnel and fined 50,000 kyats if they cannot produce official permission letters. Those unable to pay are turned back—sometimes after being detained for hours.
“There’s no freedom to move anymore. Even if we just want to go to the market, they stop us and take money,” said a Rohingya man from Tharyet Auk, who had recently been fined. “They took 50,000 kyats from me, and I had to return home without buying anything.”
Livelihoods Under Pressure
The restrictions have devastated local commerce. Residents of villages like Thuu U Lar, Ywet Nyo Taung, Myaw Taung, and Tharyet Auk regularly travel to Kyauk Hlay Gar market to purchase food and supplies, which they resell to earn a living. But those daily routines are now in jeopardy.
“We rely on buying and reselling rice, onions, oil—basic things,” said a woman from Myaw Taung. “Without movement, we have no way to feed our families.”
Two commonly used access routes—Thuu U Lar via Hla Phoe Khaung and Tharyet Auk—are now tightly controlled by the AA. Villagers must obtain travel endorsements from their local administrators for a fee of 5,000 kyats per permit—and even that doesn’t guarantee safe passage.
On June 13, three residents from Tharyet Auk were reportedly fined and turned back, despite having documentation. A day earlier, two men from Thuu U Lar were detained for several hours and fined at the Hla Phoe Khaung Bridge checkpoint before being forced to return home.
A Growing Sense of Imprisonment
Locals say the restrictions echo patterns of past repression, and describe the current situation as one of economic and social suffocation.
“It’s like we’re prisoners in our own villages,” said a resident from Thuu U Lar. “Even for survival, we are punished.”
The lockdown on movement comes amid renewed conflict between the AA and Myanmar military forces. Supply routes from central Myanmar have been cut off, and basic goods are increasingly sourced via informal or smuggled channels from Bangladesh. With prices surging, the ability to travel and trade has become essential for survival.
Yet, for the Rohingya—already navigating statelessness, displacement, and discrimination—these new restrictions are yet another reminder that life under armed control remains one of constant surveillance, fines, and fear.
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