Tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims from approximately 20 villages fled for safety amid intense clashes between the Junta and the Arakan Army (AA) in Maungdaw District, Rakhine State.
Since May 5, Rohingya residents from over 10 villages, including Paungzar, Hlabazar, and Guna in Maungdaw, as well as about 10 villages such as Kakyetbet, Alelchaung, Donechaung, Myaungnar, and Bagonenar in Buthidaung, have been displaced due to fears of the fighting spreading to their communities.
"We had to leave our village because it was not safe anymore. We took the children and the elderly with us, along with everyone else from the village. It is just too risky to stay there. Only a few people stayed behind to look after the village”, a displaced villager said.
Even though the clashes have not reached the Muslim villages yet, residents evacuated en masse due to the looming threat of forced military service by the Junta, along with warnings from the AA prompting villagers to evacuate as a precaution.
“AA told us to leave within a week because clashes might happen close to our villages. Since there is fighting in the towns too, it is not safe to go there. Now everyone is heading where they think they will be safe”, a source close to the Maungdaw Muslim community told DMG.
In Maungdaw, where fighting continues fiercely, telephone and internet networks are down, hindering humanitarian aid from reaching those displaced by the conflicts, resulting in hardships accessing food and healthcare.
"Right now nobody feels safe, whether they are Muslim or Rakhine. There are many Muslims in Maungdaw. Nobody is thinking about the future, just trying to survive today”, a Maungdaw-based aid worker said.
To seize the Junta bases still resisting in Maungdaw, AA is intensifying its offensives, while the Junta is countering with Air Force, Navy and Army actions, along with heavy artillery support, to prevent the bases from falling.
Since November 13, 2023, clashes have reignited in Rakhine State, and in the nearly six months since then, the number of people displaced by the conflict has surpassed 166,000.
