By: Camp Correspondent
April 26, 2025 | Maungdaw, Arakan (Rakhine State)
In a move that has intensified fear and uncertainty among Rohingya communities, the Arakan Army (AA) has reportedly ordered village administrators across Maungdaw Township to recruit 30 to 50 Rohingya youth from each village to join its armed forces, local sources confirmed to Rohingya Khobor.
The directive was issued during meetings held on Wednesday, April 24, at locations including Myot Taung Village, Area 6 of Pyin Phyu, and the Myauk Than Kyaw military base.
Village administrators and religious leaders were summoned and instructed to mobilize young Rohingya men and women, with little room for refusal or negotiation.
“They said it is our duty to fight in the revolution,” a village administrator told Rohingya Khobor on condition of anonymity. “If we don’t cooperate, we fear arrest or punishment.”
Compulsory Military Training and Forced Conscription
According to the AA’s orders:
- Males aged 18 to 45, and
- Females aged 18 to 35
must undergo a 45-day military training program, after which they will be deployed for security patrols and frontline duties.
However, many in the Rohingya community view the conscription order not as a call to defend their homeland, but as coerced recruitment under threat.
“We are already struggling to survive, and now they want to take our sons away,” said Noor Alam, a father of four from northern Maungdaw. “If my son goes, who will feed us?”
A young man from Kyikanpyin expressed his anguish:
“I want peace, not war. But they warned that if I refuse, my family might face trouble. This is not duty—it’s fear.”
Mixed Reactions: Between Pride and Desperation
Despite the widespread fear, a small segment of Rohingya youth sees this conscription differently.
“Our ancestors fought alongside Rakhine people to defend Arakan,” said Mohammad Salim, a 22-year-old from Buthidaung. “Now it’s our time. We must show we belong to this land.”
Yet the risks are real. Families of young men recruited during previous drives in 2024 report that many never returned and have no information about their fate.
“My two sons went for ‘training’ last year and disappeared,” said a mother from Ngan Chaung village. “We don’t know if they are dead or alive.”
A Community Trapped Between Fear and Survival
As the conflict deepens, Rohingya communities find themselves trapped yet again—pressured to join a conflict they did not choose, abandoned by the international community, and left vulnerable to exploitation by armed groups.
“We have no weapons, no power, and now no voice,” said an elderly Rohingya man from Maungdaw. “They say we must go. So we go.”
Local observers fear that this forced recruitment campaign may further destabilize Rohingya society, tear families apart, and worsen the humanitarian crisis in northern Arakan.
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