Ten trucks of soldiers arrived in Maungdaw on 31 October and were deployed in Maungdaw South and Myoma Kayoundan Village in Maungdaw Town according to Jaffer, an elder from Maungdaw.
He said: “A baattalion of army personnel are already stationed in Myoma Kayoungdan Village, but unknown to the public more army personnel came to Maungdaw. There are now four trucks of army personnel stationed along the Maungdaw to Alay Thankyaw Highway at Nurullah Para, Du Cheeyardan, Gawdu Sara and Du Nyaung Pin Gyi,”
Hamid, a village administration officer from Maungdaw South, said that the army is only stationed close to Rohingya villages in Maungdaw South and no one knows why they are on that road.
Anwar, an elder from Maungdaw suggested that maybe the government had mobilised the army before the upcoming 8 November election for people’s security.
He also said that maybe the reinforcements had arrived because the authorities had secret plans to check Rohingya villages.
He said that the army and police already check Rohingya villages every weekend. The soldiers surround a village and stand guard in the road whilst the police officers enter Rohingya homes and check all of their belongings; including cupboards, lockers, boxes and baggage.
Nobody knows what the police are looking for; they only seize swords, knives pickaxes crowbars and other potential weapons. They also check for strangers staying in houses; anti- government documents; Bangladeshi SIM cards and mobiles and yaba (illegal amphetamines) they also steal money and gold ornaments and look for anything else of value that they can steal added Anwar.
A Maungdaw police officer, who did not want to be identified, said that on 31 October all the police officers in Maungdaw District went to the Border Guard Police Headquarters to test their weapons and replace faulty ones.
Anis Ullah, a teacher from Maungdaw, said that this was part of a concerted effort to destroy Rohingya wealth and force the Rohingyas from their homeland.
He said: “It looks like the government has a secret plan to drive out the Rohingyas from Maungdaw District, to deny them free movement and to only allow them to stay in their villages, [effectively] keeping them in open cages.”
Edited in English by Mark Inkey for BNI
