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Islamic Terrorist Groups Serving the Myanmar Junta's Purposes in Arakan

Updated: Apr 23

GAN/ Arakan (Rakhine State) April 18, 2024



Armed ARSA militants (Photocredit)

Islamic terrorist groups such as ARSA (Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army) and ARA (Arakan Rohingya Army), founded by members of the self-identified Rohingya community, are currently aligned with the oppressive Myanmar junta's agenda in Arakan. According to an April 15, 2024 report in the New Indian Express, these two extremist factions, supported by the Myanmar junta, have taken over 1600 Hindu and 120 Buddhist Arakanese hostages in urban Buthidaung areas. Tragically, just four days prior, on April 11, two Buddhist Arakanese lost their lives defending their homes, brutally murdered by these radical groups.

 

ARSA has gained infamy for its heinous crimes against non-Muslim populations in Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships, particularly its massacre of over 99 innocent Hindu civilians, extensively documented by international bodies like Amnesty International (AI). ARA, allegedly supported by the Myanmar Border Guard Police Force (BGPF) and led by known drug trafficker Abdullah Kane, operates as a proxy drug-dealing organisation.

 

Since the implementation of the military conscription law on February 10, 2024, the Myanmar junta has coerced hundreds of local Muslim men into service, while others have joined voluntarily, drawn by financial incentives, economic opportunities, political power, and religious extremism. This was evident during the anti-Arakan Army protests on March 20 and 21 in Sittwe, Muangdaw, and Buthidaung, where demonstrators voiced anti-AA and anti-Rakhine sentiments, stoning Rakhine houses. On April 15, the Muslim extremists burnt down around 200 Rakhine houses including the office of the Medecins Sans Frontières (MSF), "Doctors Without Borders".


MSF office after being burnt down (Photo/MSF)


Presently, newly recruited Muslim militants are actively engaging alongside junta forces against the AA, some in urban settings and others forming village defence forces to thwart AA offensives.

 

It is imperative for the international community to focus attention on the dire situation facing Hindus and Arakanese Buddhists, who are being detained and oppressed by ARSA and ARA extremists, backed by the Myanmar junta. Local reports indicate that these terrorist elements have subjected Hindu locals to arrest and torture, accusing them of affiliations with the AA, resulting in severe injuries. Additionally, junta-backed terrorists have planted mines to prevent locals from seeking refuge in safer areas.

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