Rohingya Villages Demolished, New Rakhine Settlements Built in Maungdaw and Buthidaung: Rohingya Land Distributed by AA

Photo: Frontier Myanmar

The Arakan Army (AA) has constructed several new Rakhine villages on former Rohingya villages in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships of Rakhine State, according to residents and local sources.

A resident who spoke to Arakan Now said that a new Rakhine village with more than 90 households has been built between the Rohingya villages of Ywet Nyo Taung (Rongia Daung) and U Hla Hpay in Buthidaung Township. The resident added that similar construction has taken place in multiple locations. Farmland belonging to Rohingya who fled to Yangon, Bangladesh, and other areas has also been seized and redistributed.

Reports indicate that in Maungdaw Township, the AA is demolishing Rohingya villages and constructing new settlements for Rakhine communities, while redistributing Rohingya-owned farmland.

The actions are reportedly linked to the AA’s “Rakhita Roadmap,” previously reported by DMG News Agency. According to those reports, over the past week the AA has been collecting lists from homeless, unemployed, and those who unable to return home for various reasons. This has been carried out under the stated aim of constructing new Rakhine settlements in Maungdaw Township in order to balance the population. The plan now reportedly being implemented. 

Witnesses who spoke to MDN said the AA has seized abandoned Rohingya villages and farmland, particularly in rural areas of Maungdaw. New Rakhine villages are being systematically established, with confiscated farmland reportedly distributed to Rakhine families at a rate of one to two acres per household, depending on family size.

Local Rohingya communities report that new Rakhine villages are being constructed along the road corridor from Angngo Maw in Rathedaung Township to Maungdaw, and onward from Maungdaw to Taung Pyo Letwea. Along this route, numerous Rohingya villages have been replaced, and farmland redistributed.

In northern Maungdaw, Rohingya villages along a three-mile stretch from Kyee Kan Pyin headquarters through Kyein Chaung to Taung Pyo Road—including Nyaung Yont Taung, Kholiza, Kyee Kan Pyin, Wabet, Phawar Chaung, Myo Taung, and Kyein Chaung in Taung Pyo sub-township—are reportedly being replaced with Rakhine settlements. Sources say Rohingya-owned land and ponds in these areas are also being distributed to Rakhine settlers.

A Maungdaw resident told MDN:

“These are abandoned Rohingya villages left behind by people who fled for their lives to Bangladesh after the genocidal violence of 2017. In those villages, the AA is now building new Rakhine settlements. In 2018, the NLD government built a reception camp for Rohingya refugees in Nyaung Yont Taung village, but the AA later seized it and distributed it to Rakhine people.”