Conflict in Rakhine State (2016–present)
Armed conflict in western Myanmar / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Violent clashes have been ongoing in the northern part of Myanmar's Rakhine State since October 2016. Insurgent attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) have led to sectarian violence perpetrated by Myanmar's military and the local Buddhist population against predominantly Muslim Rohingya civilians.[29][30][31][32] The conflict has sparked international outcry and was described as an ethnic cleansing by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.[32][33] In August 2017, the situation worsened and hundreds of thousands of refugees fled Myanmar into Bangladesh, with an estimated 500,000 refugees having arrived by 27 September 2017.[34][35] In January 2019, Arakan Army insurgents raided border police posts in Buthidaung Township,[36] joining the conflict and beginning their military campaign in northern Rakhine State against the Burmese military.[37][38]
This article needs to be updated. (November 2023) |
Conflict in Rakhine State | ||||||||
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Part of the internal conflict in Myanmar and Rohingya conflict | ||||||||
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Belligerents | ||||||||
| Arakan Army | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | ||||||||
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Mohammed Ayyub Khan | |||||||
Units involved | ||||||||
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Strength | ||||||||
15,000–20,000 soldiers[12] ~1,000 policemen[13] | 30,000[14] | Unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | ||||||||
The Muslim Rohingya minority in the region has historically experienced persecution.[39][40][41] Laws such as the 1982 Myanmar nationality law ban Rohingya people from obtaining citizenship, and military operations in 1978, 1991 and 1992 against the Rohingya have led to their displacement throughout Rakhine State.[42] Sectarian violence between Buddhist Rakhines and Muslim Rohingyas in 2012 and the 2013 have also caused mass displacements.[43]
The current conflict began on 9 October 2016 when ARSA insurgents attacked Burmese border posts along the Bangladesh–Myanmar border. In response, Burmese authorities launched "clearance operations" between October 2016 to June 2017, which killed more than 1,000 Rohingya civilians, according to UN officials.[39][44] Following attacks on military outposts by ARSA on 25 August 2017, sectarian violence erupted once again in northern Rakhine State. The Burmese military later claimed that 400 insurgents had died in the clashes that followed.[45][46][47] However, the UN estimates that at least 1,000 people were killed between 25 August and 8 September.[48][49] By September, the violence had resulted in 389,000 Rohingyas fleeing their homes.[50]
Foreign leaders, including the United Nations Secretary General and other high UN officials, and the United Nations Security Council—while acknowledging the initial attacks by Rohingya insurgents—have strongly criticised the Myanmar government's conduct in the current conflict, calling for the Myanmar government to restrain its forces and factions, and to stop attacking civilians.[48]
A report published on 27 June 2018 by Amnesty International detailed crimes against humanity perpetrated by Burmese military units both before and after 25 August 2017 ARSA attacks. It also noted that those units were sent to Rakhine State shortly before the attacks took place, suggesting that the crackdown that followed was planned in advance.[51]
The Rohingya people are an ethnic minority that mainly live in the northern region of Rakhine State, Myanmar, and have been described as one of the world's most persecuted minorities.[52][53][54] They describe themselves as descendants of Arab traders and other groups who settled in the region many generations ago.[52][38] After riots in 2012, academic authors used the term Rohingya to refer to the Muslim community in northern Rakhine. For example, Professor Andrew Selth of Griffith University uses the term "Rohingya" but states "These are Bengali Muslims who live in Arakan State... most Rohingyas arrived with the British colonialists in the 19th and 20th centuries."[55] Among the overseas Rohingya community, the term has been gaining popularity since the 1990s, though a considerable portion of Muslims in northern Rakhine are unfamiliar with the term and prefer to use alternatives.[56][57] Scholars have stated that they have been present in the region since the 15th century.[58] However, they have been denied citizenship by the government of Myanmar, which describes them as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.[52]
In modern times, the persecution of Rohingyas in Myanmar dates back to the 1970s.[59] Since then, Rohingya people have regularly been made the target of persecution by the government and nationalist Buddhists.[40] The tension between various religious groups in the country had often been exploited by the past military governments of Myanmar.[52] According to Amnesty International, the Rohingya have suffered from human rights violations under past military dictatorships since 1978, and many have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh as a result.[60] In 2005, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees had assisted with the repatriation of Rohingyas from Bangladesh, but allegations of human rights abuses in the refugee camps threatened this effort.[61] In 2015, 140,000 Rohingyas remained in IDP camps after communal riots in 2012.[62]
2016–2017 clashes
2016
On 9 October, hundreds of unidentified insurgents attacked three Burmese border posts along Myanmar's border with Bangladesh. According to government officials in the majority Rohingya border town of Maungdaw, the attackers brandished knives, machetes and homemade slingshots that fired metal bolts.[63] Nine border officers were killed in the attack,[64][65][66] and 48 guns, 6,624 bullets, 47 bayonets and 164 bullet cartridges were looted by the insurgents.[67] Four Burmese soldiers were also killed two days later.[68] Government officials in Rakhine State initially blamed the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO), an Islamist insurgent group which was mainly active in the 1980s and 1990s, for the attacks,[69] but a group calling itself Harakah al-Yaqin ("Faith Movement") later claimed responsibility.[70]
Following the attacks in October, the Myanmar Army began "clearance operations"—widely seen as a military crackdown on the Rohingya—in the villages of northern Rakhine State. In the initial operation, dozens of people were killed and many were arrested.[73] The military enforced a curfew and blocked food aid from the World Food Programme to 80,000 people in Rakhine State.[74] As the crackdown continued, the casualties increased. Arbitrary arrest, extrajudicial killings, gang rapes and looting were reportedly carried out by the military.[75][76][53] Hundreds of Rohingya people had been killed by December 2016, and many had fled Myanmar as refugees to take shelter in the nearby areas of Bangladesh.[73][77][40][78]
The chief of police in Rakhine State, Colonel Sein Lwin, announced on 2 November that his force had begun recruiting non-Rohingya locals for a new branch of "regional police", which would be trained in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State, and then sent back to their villages. The stated purpose of these forces was to defend villages against Rohingya insurgents; however, human rights organisations criticised the move, saying the new branch would likely to be used to further the persecution of Rohingya civilians.[79][80]
New clashes began on 13 November, resulting in the deaths of one policeman, one soldier and six insurgents. Burmese police later arrested 36 suspected insurgents in connection to the attacks.[66][81][82] Fighting continued and on the third day of the fighting, the death toll rose to 134 (102 insurgents and 32 security forces). The government later announced that 234 people suspected of being linked to the attackers had been arrested.[83] Some of those arrested were later sentenced to death for their suspected involvement in the attack.[84]
2017
Clashes between insurgents and the military continued in 2017. Burmese state media reported on 22 June that three insurgents had been killed by security forces during a two-day raid on an insurgent camp supposedly belonging to Harakah al-Yaqin, now calling themselves the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA). Authorities confiscated gunpowder, ski masks and wooden rifles suspected to have been used for training.[85][86]
In February, the United Nations accused Myanmar's military of mass killings and gang rapes, as well as burning down villages over the course of their "clearance operations". It stated that the military's operations had "likely caused hundreds of deaths."[87] Two senior UN officials working in its two separate agencies in Bangladesh stated that more than 1,000 may have died per testimonies gathered from Rohingyas. Meanwhile, Myanmar's presidential spokesman, Zaw Htay said that per latest reports from military commanders, fewer than 100 people had been killed.[88] The government of Myanmar denied that there was a systematic campaign of rape, though acknowledges it may have been committed by "individual members of the security forces".[30]
A police document obtained by Reuters in March listed 423 Rohingyas detained by the police since 9 October 2016, 13 of whom were children, the youngest being ten years old. Two police captains in Maungdaw verified the document and justified the arrests, with one of them saying, "We the police have to arrest those who collaborated with the attackers, children or not, but the court will decide if they are guilty; we are not the ones who decide." Myanmar police also claimed that the children had confessed to their alleged crimes during interrogations, and that they were not beaten or pressured during questioning. The average age of those detained is 34, the youngest is 10, and the oldest is 75.[89][90]
In April the Myanmar Army deployed an additional 1,000 soldiers to Rakhine State, increasing the number of active troops in the region to 2,000.[91]
Rakhine State police chief Sein Lwin announced on 27 June that security forces were on "high alert" after "masked assailants" killed several local administrators close to the Burmese government in the days prior.[92] A week later on 4 July, a mob of at least a hundred Rakhine Buddhists in Sittwe attacked seven Rohingya men from Dapaing camp for internally displaced persons with bricks,[93] killing one and severely injuring another. The Rohingya men were being escorted by police to Sittwe's docks to purchase boats, but were attacked despite armed guards being present nearby.[94][95][96] According to a spokesman for the Burmese Ministry of Home Affairs, an unarmed junior policeman was with the Rohingya men at the time of the attack, but was unable to stop the attackers.[93] One man was arrested in relation to the attacks on 26 July.[97]
Bodies of slain locals have been discovered over the course of the conflict; the government has stated that they were victims of Rohingya insurgents. The bodies of three Rohingya locals who had worked closely with the local administration were found in shallow graves in Maungdaw on 21 January. The government suspected that they were murdered by Rohingya insurgents in a reprisal attack.[98] Three decapitated bodies were found in Rathedaung Township on 31 July. According to a government official, they were murdered by Rohingya insurgents.[99] The bodies of six ethnic Mro farmers, reportedly killed by Rohingya insurgents, were found in Maungdaw Township on 3 August.[100][101][102]
In mid-August 2017, Bangladesh security forces had stepped up its border patrols, following reports of 1,100 Rohingya migrating into Bangladesh in the past two weeks amid fresh tensions in Rakhine state. After the October 2016 clashes in Myanmar, the refugee flow had slowed until hundreds more soldiers were deployed recently.[103]
25 August 2017 attacks
The government announced on 25 August that 71 people (one soldier, one immigration officer, 10 policemen and 59 insurgents) had been killed overnight during coordinated attacks by up to 150 insurgents on 24 police posts and the 552nd Light Infantry Battalion army base in Rakhine State.[104][105][106] The Myanmar Army stated that the attack began at around 1:00 am, when insurgents armed with bombs, light weapons and machetes blew up a bridge. The army further stated that a majority of the attacks occurred around 3:00 am to 4:00 am.[107]
ARSA claimed they were taking "defensive actions" in 25 different locations and accused government soldiers of raping and killing civilians. The group also claimed that Rathedaung had been under a blockade for more than two weeks, starving the Rohingya, and that the government forces were preparing to do the same in Maungdaw.[108]
Myanmar's civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, sharply criticised the insurgent Rohingya attacks as an attempt to undermine others' efforts to "build peace and harmony in Rakhine state."[41] The United Nations condemned the attacks, while calling on all sides to refrain from violence.[109]
Military crackdown operations and violence
Following attacks by ARSA on 25 August, Myanmar's armed forces led a crackdown against Rohingyas in Rakhine State. The military referred to the action as "clearance operations",[110] but critics argued that the targets were Rohingya civilians and that it was an attempt to drive the Rohingya out of Myanmar.[111][112][113]
On 26 August, Myanmar troops allegedly opened fire on Rohingya civilians as they attempted to escape into Bangladesh.[113][114]
The violence resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people in Myanmar's Rakhine state. At least 1,000 have been killed by 7 September, according to Yanghee Lee, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights for Myanmar. She added that the figure is "very likely an underestimate".[49] On the same day, Myanmar's armed forces claimed that 400 insurgents had been killed.[110][112] However, Rohingya accounts indicate that most of the dead were non-combatant civilians, including women and children.[112][39]
Rohingya refugees quickly began fleeing Myanmar by the thousands,[115][110] then, within two weeks, by the hundreds of thousands.[116][117] By 12 September, authorities in Bangladesh and aid agencies were reporting 370,000 refugees had fled Myanmar, mostly Rohingya Muslims (about a third of the estimated Rohingya population in Myanmar),[118] but also hundreds of Hindus and Buddhists.[119]
Rohingya refugees arrived in Bangladesh, many of whom had injuries such as bullet wounds, and reported fleeing indiscriminate shootings, rapes, torture and other violent acts against Rohingya civilians[110][111] by mobs of Buddhist Rakhine civilians and Myanmar government forces, including upon whole villages, many of which were burnt down[112] (reportedly some with villagers, even children, confined in the burning structures by their attackers).[110]
When Human Rights Watch published satellite photos showing villages on fire,[120][121] the Burmese government acknowledged that Rohingya houses were burned, but again insisted (as they did in 2012) that the Rohingya insurgents were burning their own villages.[112][110] However, a group of reporters on a government-guided tour claimed they caught Rakhine civilians torching empty Rohingya houses, and one reporter alleged he was told by a Rakhine civilian that the police had assisted them.[110]
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said the violence appeared to be "a textbook example of 'ethnic cleansing.'"[118]
In late August 2017, Bangladesh proposed joint military operations with Myanmar against ARSA.[122] In September 2017, it accused Myanmar of repeatedly violating its airspace and issued a warning stating that any more "provocative acts" could have "unwarranted consequences". Myanmar spokesman, Zaw Htay, stated Myanmar would check any information Bangladesh provided.[123]
On 2 September, the 33rd Light Infantry Division of the Myanmar Army and local paramilitaries executed ten villagers in Inn Din who were suspected of being ARSA members.[124][125][126][127]
Starting on 6 September, reports emerged that the Myanmar Army had begun laying landmines near the border with Bangladesh.[128] Bangladesh said it had photographic evidence of Myanmar laying mines,[129] and lodged an official complaint.[128] On 10 September, Amnesty International accused Myanmar's security forces of laying landmines in violation of the landmine ban under international law,[130] an accusation Myanmar's government denied. The purpose of Myanmar laying mines is believed to be to prevent the Rohingya refugees from returning.[129] At least three people, including two children, had been injured in landmines as of 10 September.[111][130] Mro people crossing the border into Myanmar have also been injured by the mines.[131]
Ceasefire and aftermath
A one-month unilateral ceasefire was declared by ARSA on 9 September, in an attempt to allow aid groups and humanitarian workers safe access into northern Rakhine State.[132][133][134] In a statement, the group urged the government to lay down their arms and agree to their ceasefire, which would have been in effect from 10 September until 9 October (the one-year anniversary of the first attacks on Burmese security forces by ARSA). The government rejected the ceasefire, with Zaw Htay, the spokesperson for the State Counsellor's office, stating, "We have no policy to negotiate with terrorists."[112][135]
The Myanmar government reported on 17 September that 176 of 471 Rohingya villages had been abandoned. By then it was reported that 430,000 Rohingyas had fled into neighbouring Bangladesh. The government of Bangladesh also announced plans to build shelters for 400,000 refugees and start immunisations, but began restricting the movement of some of the refugees.[136][137][138]
United Nations Secretary General António Guterres urged Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi to use her planned speech to her nation on 19 September to announce a stop to the military offensive, warning that if she did not, "I do not see how this can be reversed in the future".[137] However, U.S. diplomats—while demanding that "this persecution must stop", attempted to be supportive of Suu Kyi's fragile, new civilian-leader position in a nation still largely ruled by the military.[137][136][138][139][140] Suu Kyi's speech was later criticised by Amnesty International as "a mix of untruths and victim-blaming".[141] Doubt was also cast on her statement of there being no clashes after 5 September, with satellite imagery examined by Amnesty International appearing to show more than a dozen burned villages and fires since then.[142]
Myanmar's vice-president Henry Van Thio told the UN on 20 September that Burmese security forces had been instructed to avoid collateral damage and harm to innocent civilians. He also promised that human rights violations would be dealt with "in accordance with strict norms of justice." Thio added that minority groups other than the Rohingya had also fled the violence and that his government was concerned over Rohingyas fleeing despite there being no armed clashes since 5 September.[143]
Rakhine Chief Minister Nyi Pu and Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Win Myat Aye visited the villages of Nyaung Pin Gyi and Ah Nauk Pyin to deliver aid after reports of Rohingya Muslims being trapped in the latter. An official also stated that those trap were guaranteed safe passage by the two ministers, after local Rakhine Buddhists threatened them. Win Myat Aye stated that he had learned of the situation in the villages from international reports and that he and Nyi Pu had assured the Rohingya that they would take action against those intimidating them.[144]
ARSA stated on 7 October that they would respond to any peace initiatives proposed by Myanmar's government, but added that their one-month unilateral ceasefire was about to end.[145] Despite the ceasefire ending on 9 October, the government stated that there were no signs of any new attacks as it held inter-faith prayers in a stadium in Yangon to curb animosity.[146]
Myanmar's military launched an internal probe into the actions of its soldiers during the August clashes.[147] In November, the military released a report denying all accusations against its security forces. Major General Maung Maung Soe was meanwhile transferred from his post as head of Western Command in Rakhine State in the same month.[148]
While welcoming Pope Francis on 28 November during the second day of his visit to Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi stated that there had been an "erosion of trust and understanding" between the communities of Rakhine State.[149] The International Committee of the Red Cross stated on 13 December that an estimated 300,000 Rohingya Muslims remained in Rakhine State, 180,000 of whom were displaced in the north.[150] Human Rights Watch stated on 18 December that it had identified 40 Rohingya villages which had been destroyed in October and November.[151]
Low-level insurgency (2017–present)
Late 2017
The state-run Global New Light of Myanmar stated on 17 November that three trucks were extensively damaged in landmine explosions in Minbya two days earlier. It stated they were targeting army convoys, and added that another landmine exploded near a village later in the day as seven military trucks passed by, injuring a pedestrian. It also separately stated that 19 people had been arrested over the August attacks and charged under the anti-terrorism law.[152]
2018
The Tatmadaw estimated the size of ARSA to be around 200 fighters in January 2018.[153][154]
ARSA claimed responsibility for an ambush carried out on a Burmese military convoy on 5 January in the village of Turaing, claiming they were fighting against "Burmese state-sponsored terrorism" against Rohingyas. Six security personnel and a civilian driver were reportedly wounded[155][156][157] by gunfire and homemade land mines.[158][159][160]
In mid-March, Burmese authorities began sponsoring the migration of Rakhine Buddhists from Rakhine State's poorer southern regions to areas in the north that were formerly dominated by Rohingya Muslims. The village of Inn Din, which was the site of a mass execution of Rohingyas, had 250 new Rakhine arrivals from the south by 16 March.[161] According to Amnesty International, three facilities were being constructed for the security forces at the time, and Rohingyas were forcibly evicted from their village so that the land could be used for a military base. Four undamaged mosques were also reportedly dismantled.[162] Yanghee Lee stated on 12 March that the government of Myanmar appeared to be deliberately starving the Rohingya to make them flee.[163]
On 27 June, Amnesty International published a report on the situation in Rakhine State, detailing abuses faced by Rohingyas both before and after the August 2017 attacks. The report noted that the 33rd and 99th Light Infantry Divisions, known for committing abuses in the past, were sent to Rakhine State only weeks before the attacks happened, suggesting that the ensuing military crackdown was planned in advance. Thirteen military officials were also implicated in the report as being the primary sanctioners of the crackdown.[51]
Myanmar's military announced in late December that it would resume "clearance operations" in northern Rakhine State after one policeman and three Rakhine Buddhist civilians were found murdered shortly after they were reported missing.[164][165] Two Maramagyi fishermen were also kidnapped and stabbed by six unidentified assailants speaking "Bengali", but they managed to escape their abductors according to Myanmar's commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing.[166]
2019
Myanmar Radio and Television stated on 20 January that 10 members of ARSA attacked a post of the Border Guard Police near Maungdaw Township's Wet Kyein village on 16 January, leaving six policemen wounded.[167]
Two border guard policemen and an engineer of the Military Engineer Corps were wounded by gunfire near a border guard post near Wai Lar Taung village in Maungdaw Township according to a Tatmadaw spokesman on 24 January. The spokesman claimed the unidentified attackers fired at them from Bangladesh.[168] The General Administration Department however blamed the attack on ARSA. It cited a police report stating that 40 ARSA insurgents had attacked the post in order to capture it, but were forced to flee by the officers who received help from another regiment.[169]
A mine attack on a police vehicle traveling between villages of Muangdaw Township was conducted by ARSA on 22 April according to the Tatmadaw, injuring its driver.[170] Two security personnel were killed in an ambush of a border outpost by unknown gunmen from across Bangladesh on 7 July. Brig. Gen. Zaw Min Tun told Radio Free Asia that the area from where the attack occurred was controlled by ARSA and the group was suspected.[171] Two ARSA members were killed and three arrested on 21 November in Muangdaw, according to the Tatmadaw.[172]
2020
A sub-lieutenant of the Tatmadaw and three civilian contractors were killed in March 2020, after their vehicle transporting materials for building a border fence hit an ARSA mine.[173] Two people were killed and three injured after ARSA exploded motoborikes of 12 Daingnets and shot at them near Bawtala Village in Maungdaw Township on 30 March, according to the state media.[174]
The Tatmadaw stated that it had seized ammunition and military equipment from an ARSA camp in the village of Kha Maung Seik on 8 April. Later, it stated that two policemen were killed in the village after being ambushed by the group on 15 April. Two members of the group were found dead with improvised landmines on 29 April according to it.[175]
A Border Guard Police unit was attacked by ARSA insurgents near the Bangladesh–Myanmar border on 2 May according to Myawady Daily, injuring two officers.[176] According to the military, the insurgents retreated after it arrived to assist the police force.[175]
Two alleged ARSA insurgents were killed in a confrontation with Myanmar security forces at the Bangladesh–Myanmar border on 4 June near Mee Dike village, according to the Tatmadaw, which stated that around 30 insurgents opened fire on a routine border patrol by the border police and retreated after 30 minutes of fighting. Some policemen were also injured per the military.[177]
Three residents of Khayay Myaing village were killed and six others wounded when their vehicle struck a mine in Maungdaw Township on 17 November. Maungdaw District administrator Soe Aung stated that the government believed that ARSA was behind the blast.[178]
During the Myanmar civil war (2021–present)
The Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) claimed to have killed 22 Myanmar Army soldiers on 30 March 2021 after attacking a military camp in Rakhine State.[179] The RSO re-emerged amidst the clashes in Rakhine State, and started targeting people who supported ARSA.[180]
The conflict also allowed another armed Rohingya group led by Abdullah Kane to emerge. In May, a furniture seller and a former village administrator were kidnapped and robbed. A village administrator of Padin village also suffered the same treatment in August. An administrator of Pan Taw Pyin village in Maungdaw was killed on 2 September, while two others were wounded. The Rohingya Nationalist Organization, based in the Kutupalong refugee camp, accused Kane's group of being behind the attacks.[180]
ARSA started re-emerging in Maungdaw District around November 2021, after allying with the National Unity Government formed in opposition to the military junta that took power after the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état. The group clashed with the military in Maungdaw during November. Maung Hla, the administrative officer of Khone Taing village, stated that their base was located in Wela hills, about 20 miles (32 km) north of Maungdaw.[181]
On 7 December, 23 residents of Khone Taing village were shot at by ARSA near La Baw Chaung mountain, located around 2 miles (3.2 km) from the village, injuring one of them.[173]
Several images and videos appeared on social media in early-January 2022, purportedly showing more than 50 members of the group along with its leaders taking part in a military drill in Maungdaw.[181] The group clashed with the Arakan Army on 19 July 2023 in the Mayu mountains near Sein Hnyin Pyar and Gu Dar Pyin villages. The AA claimed that five ARSA members and one AA member were killed, with the AA seizing an ARSA outpost.[182] ARSA was accused of killing a villager of Meekyaungkaungswe village in Buthidaung Township on 10 September.[183]
Since February 10, 2024, the Tatmadaw reportedly conscripted young Rohingya men between the ages of 18 and 35, despite the law only applying to citizens. Including 100 men from four villages in Buthidaung Township, they undergo 14 days of basic training while the junta promises them ID cards, a bag of rice, and a monthly salary of 41 USD. For Rohingya who dodge the draft, many endeavor to join the Arakan Army rather than ARSA or the RSO.[184] [185]
Reversing previous anti-Rohingya rhetoric, AA spokesman, Khine Thu Ka, called upon young Rohingya men fleeing conscription to seek refuge in their territory. While the AA denied regime claims that they were targeting them for recruitment, Khine Thu Kha encouraged anyone to volunteer if they wished, regardless of ethnicity or religion.[186]