Myanmar regime continues to stoke ethnic tensions as fighting rages on in northern Rakhine

Ethnic Rohingya living in northern Rakhine State continue to face pressure from Myanmar’s military as it struggles to hold onto territory amid the ongoing offensive by the Arakan Army (AA). Over the weekend, anti-AA protests were staged in towns still under regime control, including the state capital Sittwe, with most taking part being members of the Rohingya community. The protests, organised by junta authorities, are just the latest in a series of actions aimed at increasing ethnic tensions between the Rohingya and the Rakhine at a time when the AA is gaining ground throughout the state, including in the largely Rohingya north. Last week, junta forces—allegedly accompanied by forcibly recruited Rohingya conscripts—were accused of burning down the homes of ethnic Rakhine residents of Buthidaung Township, where roughly two-thirds of the population is Rohingya. The local office of international relief agency Médecins Sans Frontières, or Doctors without Borders, was also destroyed by the arson attacks, local sources reported. With the fighting currently focussed on the township, residents say they fear the regime’s efforts to incite communal strife could have dire consequences. “We don’t know what will happen if the military keeps using these tactics,” said Myint Lwin, a Rohingya man living in Buthidaung. “We don’t even dare to think about how the AA will treat us if they capture the town,” he added, noting that the sound of artillery shelling—until recently heard only in the distance—has grown closer in recent days. Displacement and destruction According to Myint Lwin, most Rakhine have fled Buthidaung since fighting began to intensify there last month. Only the Rohingya, with nowhere else to go, have stayed behind. This means that any destruction of property carried out by regime forces will likely be blamed on the Rohingya, he said. “The looting and burning of Rakhine houses is happening both day and night. Things are only getting worse,” he told Myanmar Now, adding that recently released convicts have also taken part in the attacks. Meanwhile, there have been reports that Rohingya living in northern Maungdaw Township, west of Buthidaung, have begun making their way towards neighbouring Bangladesh, where more than a million Rohingya refugees displaced by previous waves of violence targeting the group already reside in sprawling, overcrowded camps. Despite tightened security along the two countries’ border, at least 200 Rohingya have managed to make it across the Naf River into Bangladesh in recent days, according to a Rohingya leader cited in a report by Turkish news agency TRT. Thousands more remain stranded on the Myanmar side, the report claimed. Another Rohingya man living in Buthidaung said the current situation could become as bad as it was in 2012, when tens of thousands—both Rakhine and Rohingya—were displaced by deadly clashes sparked by the murder of a Rakhine woman. “In general, it has the potential to cause racial violence like in 2012,” he said. The MSF office in Buthidaung after it was destroyed by junta troops—allegedly including Rohingya conscripts—on April 15 (Supplied) Exchanging accusations According to the man, the AA has already begun to cast doubt on whether the Rohingya really belong in the post-junta state that it envisions. In parts of Buthidaung already controlled by the armed group, Rohingya are being told that they should be prepared to join the fight against the regime if they want to “enjoy the fruits” of the revolution, he said. “They say, ‘We are now fighting against the army, but you are not joining us, so how can you expect to get any benefit,’” he said, adding that the Rohingya have no choice but to do what both sides of the conflict demand of them. Meanwhile, the AA and the regime have also been exchanging accusations about the Rohingya—with the junta attempting to portray itself as the more moderate voice on the issue. On April 18, AA leader Twan Mratt Naing tweeted an Indian news report on the social media platform X that claimed Rohingya militants had taken 1,600 Hindus and 200 Buddhists in Buthidaung hostage. The report, published by the Indian Express on April 15, did not provide any evidence or details regarding the claim. In response, junta spokesperson Zaw Min Tun put out a press statement the next day denouncing the tweet, as well as one that accused the military of responsibility for a fire that broke out in Buthidaung’s Ward 5 on April 17. Regarding the latter claim, Zaw Min Tun said it was “a deliberate and fabricated statement” calculated to smear the image of the army and its personnel. He then went on to accuse the AA of “trying to provoke racial violence” by spreading unconfirmed reports about the Rohingya, claiming that the authorities have always striven to maintain peace between the Rakhine and Rohingya communities. In reply to Zaw Min Tun’s statement, the AA said it was like the pot calling the kettle black, and said the military was stirring up racial problems because it was losing the war. An ‘unproductive’ victory Another target of Zaw Min Tun’s ire was prominent Rohingya activist Tun Khin, who he accused of meeting with AA leaders at a refugee camp in Bangladesh on March 10, supposedly to discuss the AA’s desire to recruit some 50,000 Rohingya youths. Tun Khin rejected the claim as utterly false and said that it highlighted the dangerous game that the regime was playing in a bid to hold onto power. “Ordinary people are living in a state of constant fear and worry,” he said, because the Myanmar army is forcing the Rohingya to fight and protest against the AA. But he also criticised Twan Mratt Naing for sharing what he called “very dangerous and hateful content” on social media. The danger at this stage, he said, is that the AA risks achieving an “unproductive” victory over the regime if it leads to renewed hostility between Rakhine State’s two largest ethnic groups. If that happened, the Myanmar military would be sure to take advantage of the situation, he said. “They are trying to provoke problems between our two communities. We fear it could lead to bloodshed and the death of thousands of Rohingya,” said Tun Khin. That’s why the international community should pay more attention to what’s happening to the Rohingya, as well as other minorities in the country, he added.

Myanmar regime continues to stoke ethnic tensions as fighting rages on in northern Rakhine

As the Arakan Army comes closer to achieving its goal of taking full control of Rakhine State, some warn the junta could end up winning by reopening old wounds

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