Arakan Army pressures Rohingya Muslims to provide recruits, financial support
Armed group urges persecuted Rohingya minority to join its forces or contribute money, raising concerns over coercion in Burma's conflict-torn Rakhine State
NAYPYIDAW, Burma (MNTV) — The Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic Rakhine armed group controlling large parts of western Burma, has reportedly pressured Rohingya Muslims to provide young men for military recruitment and contribute financial support to its forces, placing further demands on a persecuted minority already struggling under armed conflict and displacement.
The demands were conveyed during a meeting on October 21 in Buthidaung Township, where officials from the AA and its political wing, the United League of Arakan (ULA), gathered Rohingya community leaders and business owners from several areas of northern Rakhine State.
According to Rohingya Khobor, approximately 150 Rohingya representatives attended the meeting, including around 50 community leaders and business owners from Maungdaw and nearly 100 business owners from Buthidaung.
During the gathering, AA/ULA officials reportedly urged community representatives to encourage Rohingya youths to join the Arakan Army and provide financial assistance to sustain its military operations.
An AA battalion commander reportedly referred to the deaths of Rakhine fighters during the ongoing conflict, arguing that Rohingya residents unwilling to join the armed group should contribute money or provide other forms of support.
The demands have raised concerns about the pressure facing Rohingya communities living under the authority of an armed organization whose expanding territorial control has left many residents with limited freedom and few alternatives.
Officials reportedly linked Rohingya cooperation with the AA to maintaining peaceful relations between Rohingya Muslims and ethnic Rakhine Buddhists.
The connection between military support and communal relations has heightened concerns that Rohingya residents could face pressure to demonstrate loyalty to the armed group as a condition for peaceful coexistence.
During the same meeting, AA/ULA representatives urged Rohingya leaders to publicly oppose two Rohingya armed organizations, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO).
They also called on Rohingya communities living abroad to discourage financial or other assistance to the two groups, arguing that their activities could damage relations between Rohingya and Rakhine communities.
There was no indication that the Rohingya representatives attending the meeting had supported either organization.
The latest demands come amid deepening insecurity for Rohingya Muslims in northern Rakhine State, where years of persecution, displacement and restrictions on basic rights have left communities particularly vulnerable to pressure from armed actors.
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled Burma during the military’s 2017 campaign of mass violence, while those who remained have continued to face insecurity and severe restrictions.
The AA’s expanding control over Rohingya-populated areas has created new concerns about forced recruitment, financial demands and the protection of civilians.
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