Nearly a decade after Myanmar forces were accused of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya, satellite images show the insurgent Arakan Army (AA) is now emulating those killings and land grabs. At least 10 camps, like the one on the paddy fields at Hnget Thay, have been built since the AA took control of most of northern Rakhine state in 2024. These are where many Rohingya in the state now live; others hide in the mountains, flee to refugee camps in Bangladesh, or make deadly boat journeys to Malaysia.
The arrival of more than 155,000 Rohingya in Bangladesh since 2024, amounting to 25% of the 600,000 estimated to still be in Myanmar, has raised concerns about the survival of a people who now mostly live abroad as refugees. The Rohingya are a mostly Muslim minority from western Myanmar who have faced decades of persecution. They are denied citizenship by the regime.
Massacres and forced displacement
In a military crackdown from 2016 to 2017, about 700,000 Rohingya sought refuge in Bangladesh. That campaign is being investigated as possible genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). There are now 1.2 million Rohingya in Bangladeshi refugee camps. Since Myanmar’s civil war erupted in 2021, remaining Rohingya have been caught in violence from both the AA and government forces.
Testimony received by the Guardian and reflected in recent UN reporting describes “catastrophic” conditions, including torture, gender-based violence, arbitrary arrests, land confiscation, forced labour and conscription. Many Rohingya are confined to the makeshift camp at Hnget Thay, to which the AA forced survivors to relocate after a massacre at Hoyyar Siri. Human Rights Watch documented hundreds of unarmed Rohingya killed there by AA forces.
Land seizures and forced labour
An internal UN report has identified at least 800 hectares (2,000 acres) in 23 Rohingya villages seized and repurposed for camps, settlements for other communities, or military infrastructure since 2024. Muhammad Ares, 18, now in Bangladesh, says: “They used bulldozers to clear out entire residential areas, turning our villages into completely flat, empty fields.” Mohammed Sadik, 26, from Ywet Nyo Taung, says the AA ordered them to stop farming, confiscated agricultural fields, and forced them into heavy labour.
Video shared with the Guardian shows the destruction of Ywet Nyo Taung, with schools, mosques, and homes demolished. Forced labour included dismantling Rohingya property to build military barracks, known as the AP Battalion, for housing forcibly recruited Rohingya.
Erasure and permanent displacement
The AA claims to fight for all Rakhine ethnic groups but stands accused of emulating the Myanmar military’s policies. The UN-backed Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) has not confirmed AA responsibility for land destruction. Nicholas Koumjian, IIMM head, says: “The Rohingya still inside Myanmar seem to be targeted by all sides of the ongoing conflict.”
Aung Kyaw Moe, formerly the only Rohingya member of Myanmar’s national unity government, warns of a “dangerous new phase”. He says: “If villages are erased and land is being transformed while refugees remain outside of the country, then return becomes progressively more difficult.” Testimony describes forced military training, conscription, taxes, and restrictions on movement. Tom Dannenbaum, a Stanford law professor, says the combination of coercion and dislocation could amount to the war crime of population transfer.
