Maungdaw, Arakan State: In recent weeks, Burmese army personnel have been increasingly harassing and extorting Rohingyas in southern Maungdaw Township, according to a local from Maungdaw known as Delu.
For instance, on July 7th Burmese army troops from a camp at Buhamuu Para Village attempted to arrest a Rohingya youth who was riding his motorbike on the Maungaw-Aley Than Kyaw Highway. The youth, identified as Motowlaf (30) from Maungdaw Township’s Aley Than Kyaw Village, was forced to run away and leave his motorcycle behind even though the Burmese soldiers had no apparent reason to arrest him, Delu said.
The Burmese troops then seized Motowlaf’s motorbike and brought it to their camp at Buhamuu Para Village. Later that day, the administration officer of Khonza Bill Village went to the camp to solve the problem, said Ashu, an elder from Khonza Bill Village. However, the soldiers demanded Kyat 100,000 in order to return the motorbike, said a relative of the bike owner.
In a separate incident, a soldier from the Burmese army’s Marrawaddy out-post severely beat an elderly Rohingya man on July 3rd while he was herding his cattle on a new road that runs from the Maungdaw-Buthidaung Highway to Ahngumaw Village in Rathedaung Township, according to Mr. Nurul Amin from Aley Than Kyaw Village.
Prior to the incident, a Maungdaw Township officer issued an order prohibiting Rohingya from crossing or using the road, which was built for use as an expressway. However, Rakhines are allowed to use the new expressway as they wish, according to Mr. Nurul.
