Arakan Army Unprecedentedly Pressures Villagers to Conscript Rohingya Into Military Service in Buthidaung Township
- Arakan Now
- 1 hour ago
- 2 min read
Arakan Now | 1 Feb 2026
The Arakan Army are unprecedentedly pressuring the residents of Residents from four villages in Buthidaung Township—Ka Kyet Pet, BagoNar, Myaung Nar, and Ahlay Chaung to conscript into military service, according to multiple sources.
On 30th Jan 2026, the AA held a meeting with residents of these villages at Al-Jamiatul Islamiyah Maarif-ul-Uloom Madrasa of Ka Kyet Pet. Arakan Now previously reported on this meeting it. The report can be found here: https://www.arakannow.com/arakan-army-accused-of-forcibly-conscripting-rohingya-in-buthidaung-township.
A resident told Arakan Now that the AA informed the villagers during the meeting that every village must provide 25 people over the age of 18– 15 male and 10 female who are unmarried.
They further warned "if you can’t provide them, you can’t stay here. You must leave Arakan."
Today, on 1 Feb 2026, The AA again summoned village administrators and asked how many people they could gather for conscription. Some administrators said they could provide small number of people, while other said they could not gather anyone at all. They also reported that many residents are leaving their villages and fleeing to Bangladesh.
According to sources, the head of the AA ordered its members who had been issuing travel recommendations letters for residents travelling from Buthidaung to Maungdaw to stop issuing any such recommendations.
The administrators of Ka Kyet Pet village said they were able to gather only 5 people to hand over to the AA.
Another source added that since last Friday, the youths over ages of 18 have not been sleeping at home due to the fear of abduction for military service and are instead hiding. Many have already left their villages and departure are continuing.
The situation of Buthidaung Township remains tense as residents fear further forced conscription and displacement. Arakan Now will continue to monitor the developments and reports as more information becomes available.