When the Arakan Army (AA) swept through northern Rakhine and took full control of Maungdaw by early 2025, many Rohingya dared to hope. After all, if the Myanmar the architects of the 2017 genocide in Myanmar could be pushed back, maybe, just maybe, there was a future for return, for reconciliation, for dignity. But that hope has since been ground into the blood-stained soil of Rakhine.
In the refugee camps of Bangladesh, fear now hangs heavier than ever. Rohingya refugees are watching, with horror and helplessness, as reports of abuse, starvation, and forced displacement filter in from Maungdaw. The Arakan Army, hailed by some as a resistance force against the junta, has in the eyes of many Rohingya simply taken over the military’s mantle of oppression – changing the flag, but not the fire.
From Hope to Horror
Testimonies from the camps tell us everything we need to know: families burned out of their homes, civilians gunned down without provocation, villages emptied once again under the boots of armed men. For many, this feels like 2017 all over again – the same script, just a new director.
The illusion of liberation has turned into a nightmare of new subjugation.
The Rise of Desperation – and Armed Resistance
With nowhere left to run, some Rohingya have turned to the only path they feel is left: armed resistance. Once fragmented by infighting, several Rohingya armed groups have now united, driven by desperation and a desire to reclaim their homeland. Recruitment is soaring in the camps. Some see no other choice. The idea of peace has been replaced by the instinct for survival.
But make no mistake – this is not a war of ambition. It is a war of last resort. One born not from ideology, but from betrayal and abandonment.
Caught Between Guns and Starvation
Inside Maungdaw, the humanitarian situation is deteriorating by the day. The AA’s control has brought not protection, but paralysis. Restrictions on movement, limited aid, vanishing medical care – it’s a slow and silent siege on a population already shattered by a decade of persecution.
As if that weren’t enough, both the AA and the retreating Myanmar military have reportedly resorted to forced conscription. Rohingya men and boys are being dragged into a war they never chose. This is not just a conflict zone – it’s a human trap.
The Mirage of Repatriation
In the refugee camps, “repatriation” has become a ghost word – something that flickers in speeches but dies in reality. How can nearly a million Rohingya return to a homeland now held by forces they do not trust, amid a climate of fear, hostility, and zero accountability?
Bangladesh’s tentative engagement with the Arakan Army has only deepened this distrust. For many Rohingya, it feels like being handed from one jailer to another, under the watchful silence of the world.
This Is Not Peace
We must stop pretending this is peace. The international community cannot celebrate the retreat of the Myanmar military while ignoring the emergence of another ethnic force replicating their crimes.
The Arakan Army must be held accountable. And Bangladesh must ensure that its engagement with AA does not come at the cost of Rohingya dignity, safety, or justice. The camps cannot become breeding grounds for militarisation, but neither can they remain warehouses of despair.
If the Rohingya are to believe in peace again, the world must stop looking away.
This op-ed was written not for applause, but as a warning.
Because the fire that consumed Rakhine in 2017 is burning again – only this time, it wears a different uniform.
By a contributor who requested anonymity
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