Myanmar’s most vulnerable minority group has been caught in the crossfire of a brutal conflict and say they are pressured to collaborate by both sides, pushing many to risk death or arrest to escape abroad.
When, in July, an informal ceasefire between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army broke down in Rakhine State after 20 months, fighting between the two groups spread to new battlegrounds. This includes the far northern township of Maungdaw, where the vulnerable Rohingya Muslim community form the majority.
“We have been suffering for a long time, but it is getting worse with fighting resuming,” said a 30-year-old Rohingya resident of Maungdaw Township. “We Rohingya people have been shot dead and arrested by both the military and the AA, but we have no right to make complaints to either side.”