By Hafizur Rahman
July 28, 2025
As conditions worsen for Rohingya communities under Arakan Army (AA) control in northern Rakhine State, two deeply troubling incidents have highlighted the increasing danger and desperation faced by civilians: one group of over 100 Rohingya is currently stranded in the Naf River after being denied entry into Bangladesh, while another 60 were detained by the AA while working in their own farmlands in Buthidaung Township.
Over 100 Rohingya Stranded at Bangladesh Border After Fleeing Violence
On July 25, more than 130 Rohingya—mostly from Buthidaung and Maungdaw—were transported by traffickers in coordination with the Arakan Army from Maungdaw to Jaliadwip Island, near the Naf River. The group was reportedly forced to pay 700,000 kyats per person for the crossing.
After spending the night on crowded boats, the traffickers attempted to push the group across to the Bangladesh side early on July 26. However, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) patrol teams intercepted the boats and prevented them from landing. The entire group, including infants, elderly persons, and pregnant women, was turned back toward the Myanmar side by the morning of July 27.
Now, they remain stranded on and around Jaliadwip Island—in heavy rain and without shelter. Witnesses report that many in the group are sick, coughing, and suffering from fever due to exposure. “We sold our last belongings to escape hunger and threats,” one stranded man said. “Now we are stuck between two countries, like ghosts.”
Most of the group reportedly fled escalating AA brutality in Buthidaung, including forced taxation, threats, and arbitrary arrests. Others escaped Maungdaw more recently due to a spike in Rohingya detentions, particularly targeting young men.
Arakan Army Detains 60 Rohingya Farmers in Buthidaung
While one group struggles to find safety at the border, another faces repression at home. On the same day the boat crossing occurred, AA forces detained nearly 60 Rohingya civilians in Sein Hnyin Pya and Tha Baik Taung villages of Buthidaung Township as they worked in local paddy fields.
According to local residents, the farmers were taken without warning. Many of them regularly pay monthly taxes to the AA for the right to farm their ancestral land—yet that did not protect them.
“They didn’t tell us not to go. We were just trying to feed our families,” said one farmer. “Now our people are gone, and we don’t know where they are.”
The detainees were reportedly first held at Kyauk Sar Taing overnight before being transported to an undisclosed location—likely toward central Buthidaung. Night guards in surrounding villages were instructed to stay indoors during the transfer, raising fears of secrecy and possible abuse.
Families have received no information since. “It’s like they’ve disappeared,” said one relative. “We are scared every time someone knocks at the door.”
Escalating Pattern of Persecution
Together, these two incidents paint a stark picture of the Rohingya reality in 2025. With the Arakan Army now controlling nearly 90% of Rakhine State, residents say the armed group is replicating—and in some areas exceeding—the tactics once used by the Myanmar military: arbitrary arrests, forced labor, extortion, and violent displacement.
“Even our farmlands are no longer safe,” said a villager. “And when we try to escape, we are not allowed to cross the border. We are trapped.”
As of now, the fate of the 60 detained farmers remains unknown, and the group stranded in the Naf River continues to endure exposure and uncertainty with no clear solution in sight.
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