About 7,000 Rohingya from Buthidaung Township, Rakhine State, have sought refuge in territories controlled by the Arakan Army, the Humanitarian and Development Cooperation Office under the United League of Arakan has announced.
On May 8th, due to Junta’s shelling and bombardments, Rohingya refugees from Kakyabet, Kakyabet Kanpyin, Myaungnar, Alelchaung, Bagonenar and Lel Thar villages in Buthidaung Township took refuge in the territories controlled by the Arakan Army.
“In Buthidaung, the military junta continues bombardments and shelling. We can’t live near the village. There are also shell falling, and our lives are in danger. There will be only a few people left in the village,” a person who escaped from Buthidaung Township told MPA.
Currently, there are no clashes between both sides in Buthidaung Township, but the residents are fleeing to their own convenient areas in addition to the areas under the control of the Arakan Army due to the Junta’s shelling and airstrikes.
“When Rohingyas are fleeing, we see that AA is helping them all around. We also see that photographers are used to expose these things on purpose. When we talk to the people who really experienced it on the ground, we see that what AA reports is quite different from what is happening on the ground,” said Ro Nay San Lwin, the co-founder of the Free Rohingya Coalition (FRC).
He added that the activities of the Arakan Army regarding the Rohingya refugees are only half-correct; the AA is showing that it is keeping the Rohingya safe and secure, and on the other hand, they are committing war crimes. He added that the Arakan Army must ensure that the public is not harmed by fighting and that their troops will commit crimes in the future.
“We, as ULA/AA, are providing the best protection to innocent people. Even prisoners of war are well taken care of, according to the International POW Law. We absolutely do not abuse or kill any innocent people,” said Khaing Thukha, the spokesperson of the ULA/AA, answered MPA via Telegram on May 11.
Similarly, the fact that the AA is drafting Rohingyas into the military is wrong, and according to the policies of ULA/AA, children and minors are not forced to serve in the military, and if they come to serve in the military of their own free will, they are not accepted and are only returned to their parents, he explained.
Currently, the Arakan Army is waging a war against the military, aiming to capture the remaining junta bases in the Buthidaung and Maungdaw districts. The military junta is resisting these efforts with air and navy support as well as artillery shelling.
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