Arakan Army Still Blocks Rohingya From Returning to Their Villages

ARAKAN NOW — June 15, 2025

The Arakan Army (AA) is still not allowing Rohingya from Htan Shaw Kan and Ah Twin Hnget Thay villages in Buthidaung Township to return to their homes, even though fighting in the area has stopped.

Instead, the AA told them to move to Thin Daung village. Each family is given only 15 square meters of land to build a tent. Residents say the space is too small for a family to live in properly.

“There is no fighting now, but we are still not free to go back home,” one displaced villager told Arakan Now. “We just want to live in peace on our own land.”

After Buthidaung town and many Rohingya villages were burned down during recent clashes, thousands of people fled for their lives. They hoped to return home once the fighting ended. But the AA is still blocking them.

People say they feel hopeless. Many have already lost their homes and now are being forced to live in unfamiliar places with very little space and no proper shelter.

“We have nothing left,” another villager said. “And now we are being told we can’t go back to where we belong.”

The displaced families are calling on the AA and all authorities to let them return to their villages safely and live in peace.