Two Rohingya Children Under 5 Die of Diarrhea in AA Detention, Due to Starvation and Lack of Medical Care

Arakan Now, May 10, 2025

Two Rohingya children under the age of five, detained by the Arakan Army at the Maungdaw Township Police Station, have died from diarrhea after being deprived of food and medical treatment, according to sources.

The children were part of a group of 72 Rohingya (17 families)—including 30 men, 42 women, and several children—from Shwe Zar village, who have been accused of illegal border crossing while returning from Bangladesh to Maungdaw Township on April 26, 2025. Since then, all of them have been held in AA detention without access to relatives. These are the people who fled to Bangladesh in 2024 due to the fighting between the Arakan Army and the Myanmar military.

“They must face potential six-month prison sentences,” according to Maungdaw Township Police Station Chief Maj. Maung Aye Sein.

“Detainees receive only one meal per day, without any side dishes. Trapped in these dire conditions, many Rohingya are suffering from severe diarrhea. Due to the complete lack of medical care, the two young children succumbed to the illness, while others are in critical condition, nearing death”, a relative of the detainee told Arakan Now.

Background on this incident:

During the AA’s capture of Maungdaw in December 2024, many locals fled to northern and southern parts of the township or crossed into Bangladesh. In early 2025, the AA allowed some displaced families to return. However, Rohingya returnees were extorted—each person, including infants, was forced to pay 100,000 kyat (10 people = 1 million kyat) at AA checkpoints before being permitted to stay temporarily at the Hla Phoe Khaung rescue camp.

The AA collected data on returnees but did not issue household registration documents or ID photos. Local administrators were ordered to compile lists of returnees from Bangladesh and submit them to AA authorities.

On April 25, AA immigration officials inspected 17 families, including that of U Alom, in Shwe Zar village, promising to issue new household documents and ID photos the next day. Instead, the families were taken to Maungdaw detention centers, where some were charged and face trial, while others may receive six-month prison sentences, as confirmed by a Shwe Zar villager.