Rohingya girls detained by Arakan Army in western Myanmar

NAYPYITAW, Myanmar (MNTV) — Ten Rohingya girls were reportedly detained by Arakan Army militants in western Myanmar earlier this week, according to accounts from residents of a Rohingya village in Buthidaung Township.

The abductions took place on March 10 in Khin Daung village, local residents told Rohingya Khobor, a Rohingya community news outlet. Villagers said armed members of the Arakan Army entered the settlement and took the girls to one of their camps.

Buthidaung Township lies in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, close to the Bangladesh frontier and roughly 40 to 50 kilometers from the international border, an area where large Rohingya populations remain after hundreds of thousands fled to Bangladesh during earlier waves of violence.

Families of the girls say they have received no explanation for the detentions and remain uncertain about their whereabouts or condition.

“They came to the village and took ten girls. We are very afraid because we do not know why they were taken,” one Rohingya resident told Rohingya Khobor.

Other residents said rumors have spread in the village that some families may be able to prevent their daughters from being detained by paying money, though such claims could not be independently verified.

“People say that if a family can give money, their daughters may not be arrested or taken to the camp,” another villager said.

Community elders say the incident has intensified fear among Rohingya families in the area, particularly those who lack the financial means to protect their children if similar raids occur.

“We are very worried for our daughters. Families who are poor cannot pay money, and they fear their girls could also be taken,” an elderly resident told the outlet.

The Rohingya, a mostly Muslim ethnic minority in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, have faced decades of persecution and restrictions on movement and citizenship. 

Large parts of northern Rakhine have in recent months become contested territory between Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army, an ethnic Rakhine armed group that has expanded its control across several townships near the Bangladesh border.

Residents say the latest detentions have deepened uncertainty in Rohingya communities that remain in the region, with many families now attempting to keep daughters indoors and away from public spaces amid growing anxiety.