The Arakan Army (AA), once seen as a resistance force against Myanmar’s brutal military junta, is now being accused of inflicting similar patterns of repression and abuse on the ethnic Rohingya population in Rakhine State, according to a damning report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) released yesterday.
HRW accuses the AA of subjecting Rohingya civilians to severe movement restrictions, arbitrary detention, looting, forced labour, and extortion since capturing significant territory from the junta. The report, based on recent interviews with Rohingya refugees who fled to Bangladesh, reveals a grim reality of life under the AA’s control—far from the promises of inclusive governance once touted by the group and its political wing, the United League of Arakan.
“The Arakan Army is replicating the very same repressive tactics it once opposed,” said Elaine Pearson, HRW’s Asia Director. “Its discriminatory practices against the Rohingya amount to a new form of apartheid, echoing the military’s long history of atrocity crimes.”
Refugees from Buthidaung township painted a bleak picture: food scarcity, farming bans, arbitrary curfews, and a system of travel permits riddled with corruption. One elderly Rohingya man said he had to pay bribes just to move between villages and was displaced five times in a year. Others reported graveyards being demolished, homes seized, and men forcibly recruited to fight the AA’s war against rival Rohingya groups and the military.
While the Arakan Army claims to be fighting for the liberation of the Rakhine people, its actions tell a different story. Residents described a regime fueled by extortion, seizing everything from fishing hauls to cattle to foreign remittances, plunging communities into hunger and desperation. In some cases, the AA profited from the refugee exodus itself—charging as much as $600 per person to escape to Bangladesh.
The humanitarian toll is staggering. Since late 2023, over 400,000 people have been internally displaced across Rakhine and Chin States, with at least 200,000 Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh. Of them, 120,000 have registered in refugee camps since May 2024, with many more livings in limbo.
Moreover, the HRW report details chilling accounts of torture. One 35-year-old man was beaten with bamboo sticks while in AA custody, accused of cooperating with the military—an accusation he denies. Such abuses violate international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit torture, forced labour, and the use of child soldiers—yet these violations are reportedly rampant.
Despite its battlefield successes, the Arakan Army now faces rising condemnation not just for fighting the junta, but for becoming oppressors themselves. Donors and governments, the HRW urges, must hold the AA accountable and demand respect for human rights across all communities in Rakhine State.
“The Arakan Army’s rule has turned from rebellion to repression,” said Pearson. “The Rohingya are not collateral—they are civilians who deserve protection, not persecution.”
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