Monday, February 17, 2025
HomeBreakingMaungdaw Township residents begin returning to their homes in northern Rakhine State

Maungdaw Township residents begin returning to their homes in northern Rakhine State

Maungdaw residents told DVB that the Arakan Army (AA) has allowed 274 Muslim families, who had been displaced from their homes due to fighting between the AA and the military in Maungdaw, to return home on Monday. Maungdaw is located in northern Rakhine State near the Myanmar-Bangladesh border. It came under AA control on Dec. 8. 

“The AA inspected our households and arranged [boats for us] to return. It is much better to be returning home than to be displaced,” a Maungdaw resident told DVB. The AA runs three separate camps for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from the Buddhist, Muslim and Hindu communities of Maungdaw. Buddhist and Hindu residents were allowed to begin returning to their homes on Jan. 1. 

But some residents staying at the IDP camps are unsure of returning home, despite assurances from the AA, due to the fear of airstrikes by the Myanmar military. Nearly 5,000 Maungdaw residents were displaced from their homes and so far only 1,700 of them have returned from Jan. 1-28, according to the AA. Maungdaw was evacuated in August as the AA launched an offensive to take control of the town from the military. 

“We can say that the town is starting to come alive as each community returns home,” a Maungdaw resident who returned earlier this month told DVB. He added that the AA has cleared explosive remnants of war from the town and is providing security for all of its residents. 

The military has conscripted Muslims, including the Rohingya, to fight against the AA in Rakhine State. Rohingya armed groups such as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO), and the Arakan Rohingya Army (ARA), have reportedly fought alongside the military in battles against the AA.

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