Rohingyas Trapped and Starving as Arakan Army Blocks All Movement in Northern Maungdaw

By: Camp Correspondent

Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State — May 17, 2025
Thousands of Rohingya civilians in northern Maungdaw are facing a worsening humanitarian crisis as the Arakan Army (AA) has imposed a blanket travel ban, cutting off entire villages from food, trade, and basic survival.

Since April 29, 2025, AA forces have withdrawn the village-level travel permit system that previously allowed limited movement for Rohingyas to access markets and essential goods. Now, even short-distance travel between neighboring villages is banned.

“We used to travel with permission to buy food. Now we can’t even go to the next village. My children cry from hunger,” said a father from Thu U La village.

The restriction affects multiple villages, including Thu U La, Ngan Chaung, Nga Sar Kyu, and Pyon Pyu Chaung, completely severing them from Kyauk Hlay Kar and Tharyet Oak, where the nearest food markets are located.

Before the ban, Rohingya residents used official village passes or informal alternate paths to obtain food, water, and medical items. Those paths are now being patrolled or blocked by AA forces.

“We are not involved in the fighting. We are just poor people trying to feed our families,” said a woman from Ngan Chaung village.
“But they are punishing us all. We don’t even have rice left in our homes.”

Though these villages lie more than 10 miles away from the current fighting zones between AA and ARSA, residents say they are being collectively punished under the pretext of rooting out insurgents.

Local sources report that anyone found moving between villages risks detention or abuse, and even humanitarian volunteers have been barred from delivering aid.

Observers and humanitarian monitors are raising urgent alarms. Without immediate intervention or the lifting of restrictions, the region faces a potential famine, with malnutrition, child hunger, and preventable deaths on the rise.

“This is not a conflict zone anymore. It’s a hunger trap,” said a Rohingya elder.
“The fighting is far away, but our suffering is here.”

Community leaders call on the AA/ULA leadership, international organizations, and the UN to urgently intervene, lift the travel restrictions, and allow safe humanitarian access before the crisis deepens further.