Illegal Rakhine Settlements Built on Land of Displaced Rohingya in Northern Maungdaw

Arakan Now | 21 February 2026

Rohingya residents of Maung Na Ma village in northern Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, were forcibly displaced from their homes in 2017 following genocidal military operations. After the Arakan Army took control of Maungdaw Township, ethnic Rakhine families were resettled in the vacated houses and surrounding farmland.

The affected residents fled to Bangladesh during the 2017 attacks, leaving behind homes, agricultural land, and other property.

Reporting and visual documentation collected by Arakan Now indicate that settlement expansion continued throughout 2024 on farmland and residential plots historically belonging to the displaced Rohingya community. New settlement structures have been constructed on these areas.

Accompanying photographs show settlement activity in Maung Na Ma village on land previously inhabited by displaced Rohingya residents.

These developments raise concerns regarding the occupation of civilian property, violations of property rights, and the potential impact on the future return of displaced Rohingya communities to their homes and lands in northern Maungdaw Township.