Author: news-admin

by RK Desk

August 12, 2026

Three separate developments in Myanmar’s Rakhine State have raised fresh concerns over the safety of Rohingya communities and the wider protection of civilians, as fighting, forced recruitment and allegations of serious international crimes continue across the region.

The developments include new findings by United Nations investigators on alleged crimes against Rohingya by both Myanmar junta forces and members of the Arakan Army (AA), a reported junta order formalising rotating Rohingya recruitment around Sittwe, and a separate airstrike in Thandwe Township that reportedly killed 14 civilians.

UN Investigators Examine Alleged Crimes Against Rohingya by Junta and AA

The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) said in its latest annual report that it is investigating serious crimes committed against Rohingya and other communities in Rakhine State by multiple armed actors.

The UN-mandated mechanism said investigators were examining alleged nighttime raids, mass arrests and killings involving Rohingya and Rakhine detainees in Sittwe, as well as restrictions on humanitarian assistance, including obstruction of medical and hygiene supplies and reported starvation-related deaths.

The IIMM also reported collecting evidence concerning alleged crimes by members of the Arakan Army, including rape and other sexual violence against Rohingya women, summary executions, recruitment and use of children under 15, and the destruction of mosques.

Investigators said entire Rohingya areas in Buthidaung and Maungdaw had also been cleared and that mosque sites had in some cases been repurposed for the settlement of non-Rohingya communities.

The IIMM stressed that it investigates crimes by all relevant actors regardless of their political or ethnic affiliation. Its findings constitute investigative evidence and are not final judicial determinations of individual criminal responsibility.

The Mechanism has gathered evidence from more than 1,600 sources for possible use in future prosecutions. Associated Press and Reuters also reported that the latest IIMM findings document an escalation in serious abuses by both military and anti-junta forces across Myanmar.

The findings are particularly significant for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh because they indicate that serious threats remain in areas increasingly controlled by the AA, while abuses by Myanmar military authorities are also continuing.

Junta Reportedly Formalises Rotating Rohingya Conscription Around Sittwe

In a separate development, Myanmar Now reported that Myanmar military authorities have issued a written order requiring Rohingya communities around Sittwe to provide recruits on a rotating monthly basis.

According to the report, the notice, dated 29 July, requires Aung Mingalar and five associated Rohingya neighbourhoods to provide 20 recruits each month. Residents told Myanmar Now that the system involves selecting people from participating households and that similar recruitment pressure also affects villages and displacement camps.

Myanmar Now described the order as a formalisation of a coercive recruitment practice that Rohingya residents say has already been taking place. The outlet said it had obtained the written notice, although the document has not been independently authenticated publicly.

The report also said authorities have begun new household-registration and photography exercises in Rohingya settlements, while tightening restrictions on residents’ movements.

Residents reportedly said authorities warned that registered people must be present during inspections and that households could face consequences when members are absent. Myanmar Now also reported allegations that food assistance could be affected, although those claims have not been independently confirmed.

The reported conscription system places Rohingya in an especially precarious position. Myanmar has long denied most Rohingya citizenship and subjected the community to severe restrictions, yet Rohingya residents are now reportedly being compelled to serve forces involved in the continuing conflict.

Rohingya Khobor has not independently verified the reported notice or the scale of recruitment.

Fourteen Civilians Reportedly Killed in Thandwe Airstrike

Meanwhile, a Myanmar military airstrike reportedly killed 14 civilians and injured 11 others in Kyauk Gyi village in Thandwe Township on 10 August.

Myanmar Now reported that the strike occurred at around 1 p.m. near a Buddhist monastery. The casualty figures were provided by the Arakan Army, which said the dead included 11 females and three males aged between nine and 88. The AA also said 21 houses were damaged.

A Thandwe resident quoted by Myanmar Now said the village was bombed several times and that repeated airstrikes had created widespread fear among local residents.

The precise casualty figures have not been independently verified.

The Associated Press separately reported that the AA claimed around 20 civilians were killed and 22 injured in military airstrikes across three Rakhine townships between 1 and 11 August. Myanmar’s military authorities had not publicly responded to those allegations at the time of reporting.

The latest airstrike allegations come as UN investigators report a wider escalation in aerial attacks on civilians across Myanmar. The IIMM said it had documented attacks affecting homes, schools, medical facilities, religious buildings and displacement camps, as well as the growing use of drones, paramotors and other low-cost aircraft.

Although there is currently no indication that the reported victims in Kyauk Gyi were Rohingya, continuing airstrikes across Rakhine add to the broader insecurity facing civilians and complicate discussions about creating conditions for the safe and sustainable return of Rohingya refugees.

Taken together, the three developments underline a central problem confronting Rohingya communities: they remain exposed to coercion and alleged abuses in areas controlled by different armed actors, while the wider conflict continues to make civilian safety across Rakhine increasingly uncertain.

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by RK Desk

Dhaka | August 11, 2026

Bangladesh has urged Sweden to increase support for Rohingya refugees and help keep the crisis high on the international agenda, as officials from the two countries discussed repatriation, refugee protection, migration and bilateral cooperation in Dhaka on Tuesday.

Swedish Ambassador to Bangladesh Nicolas Linus Ragnar Weeks met Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed at the Ministry of Home Affairs at the Bangladesh Secretariat.

During the meeting, Salahuddin sought greater Swedish assistance to improve living conditions for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

He noted Sweden’s role as co-chair of the Rohingya Donor Group and said the country could play an important role in maintaining international attention on the prolonged crisis.

Salahuddin described the Rohingya crisis as a major challenge to regional security and reiterated Bangladesh’s position that a safe, dignified and sustainable return to Myanmar remains the long-term solution.

The Swedish ambassador stressed the importance of safe repatriation and rehabilitation of Rohingya and expressed Sweden’s interest in supporting education as well as the safety and protection of Rohingya women and children.

The discussion comes as the Rohingya humanitarian response faces continuing pressure from declining international funding, while conditions inside Myanmar remain unsuitable for large-scale voluntary return.

More than one million Rohingya continue to live in Bangladesh, primarily in refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, while renewed conflict in Arakan State has displaced further communities in recent years.

Bangladesh has repeatedly called for stronger international involvement in creating conditions inside Myanmar that would allow Rohingya to return voluntarily, safely and with dignity.

Any sustainable return would require guarantees concerning security, citizenship and legal status, freedom of movement, access to essential services and protection from renewed persecution.

Tuesday’s meeting also covered irregular migration and human trafficking.

The Swedish ambassador expressed concern that some Bangladeshis seeking to migrate to Sweden are being exploited by trafficking networks and false promises of opportunities abroad.

Salahuddin said Bangladesh was taking measures against human trafficking and irregular migration, including nationwide awareness programmes conducted in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration.

The two sides also discussed technical education, skilled migration and bilateral trade.

The home minister sought Swedish cooperation in modernising technical training and preparing Bangladeshi workers for employment opportunities in Europe, including growing demand for caregivers and other skilled workers.

The Swedish ambassador said Bangladesh is the only South Asian country covered by Sweden’s Bilateral Cooperation Strategy and noted expanding trade and investment links between the two countries.

He said around 10,000 Bangladeshis currently live in Sweden, many of them students.

For Bangladesh, however, the Rohingya crisis remained a central issue in the talks, with the government calling for continued Swedish humanitarian assistance and diplomatic engagement toward creating conditions for a sustainable solution in Myanmar.

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by RK Desk

Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar | August 9, 2026

An assistant sub-inspector of the Armed Police Battalion was found dead inside a locked washroom at the Irani Pahar Police Camp in Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar, early Saturday, authorities said.

The deceased was identified as Rubel Hossain, 31, an Assistant Sub-Inspector serving with the 14 Armed Police Battalion at the Irani Pahar Police Camp in Camp 5.

According to APBn officials, Rubel was found absent during the regular roll call on Friday afternoon, August 7. His colleagues subsequently searched for him in different locations and repeatedly called his mobile phone but received no response.

At around 5:00 a.m. on Saturday, a cook working at the police camp noticed that a washroom door was locked from inside. After receiving no response to repeated knocks, he reportedly looked through a window and saw a person lying on the floor.

Police officers were immediately informed.

Officials from the 14 APBn, a doctor and personnel from Ukhiya Police Station subsequently arrived at the scene. As the steel door remained locked from inside, officers cut it open and recovered Rubel’s body.

A mobile phone, towel, flashlight and cigarettes belonging to Rubel were reportedly found inside the washroom.

Additional DIG Mohammad Siraj Amin, commanding officer of the 14 APBn, said preliminary observations suggested that Rubel may have suffered a sudden medical emergency, possibly a stroke, while inside the washroom.

However, authorities have stressed that the exact cause of death has not yet been determined. His body was sent to Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital for a post-mortem examination, and the final cause of death is expected to depend on the autopsy and subsequent investigation.

Police said the necessary legal and administrative procedures were underway.

No evidence of foul play had been publicly confirmed at the time of reporting.

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by RK Desk

August 7, 2026

Malaysia’s proposed return of 5,000 Rohingya to Myanmar has raised serious concerns among human rights organisations and refugee advocates, as fundamental questions remain unanswered over citizenship, security, freedom of movement and whether any return would be genuinely voluntary.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced in late July that Myanmar had agreed to receive 5,000 Rohingya currently in Malaysia following negotiations between the two governments.

However, Malaysian authorities have not publicly disclosed a detailed repatriation framework, a timetable, criteria for selecting those who could be returned, or what legal and security guarantees they would receive after entering Myanmar.

Malaysia has since said that the proposed return will not proceed if authorities determine that refugees would face persecution or threats to their lives.

Government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil said the Foreign Ministry and Home Ministry were reviewing the proposal and assessing the circumstances before any final decision was made.

The assurances have not resolved the central concerns surrounding the plan.

For Rohingya refugees, return is not simply a question of crossing a border. Decades of persecution in Myanmar have left most Rohingya without recognised citizenship, unrestricted freedom of movement, equal access to education and healthcare, protection of property rights, or effective legal safeguards against discrimination and violence.

Malaysia has not publicly explained whether any of these conditions would be guaranteed for the proposed returnees.

There has also been no indication that those selected for return would regain full citizenship rights, be allowed to return to their original homes and villages, or be protected from confinement in displacement sites or other restricted areas.

Human Rights Watch has called on Malaysia to reverse any plan that could lead to refugees being forcibly returned to Myanmar.

The organisation warned that Rohingya and other refugees from Myanmar continue to face persecution and serious human rights violations and stressed that Malaysia remains bound by the international prohibition against returning people to places where they face serious threats to their lives or freedom.

The principle, known as non-refoulement, applies regardless of Malaysia’s decision not to become a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention.

The wider situation inside Myanmar also raises fundamental questions about whether any large-scale Rohingya return is currently viable.

Conflict remains active in Arakan State, where control of territory is divided between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army. Rohingya civilians have faced movement restrictions, arbitrary detention, forced recruitment and forced labour, while access to livelihoods, healthcare, education and humanitarian assistance remains severely constrained.

UNHCR has stated that conditions for the safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable return of Rohingya remain absent because of continuing conflict, widespread rights violations and the continued denial of legal status to Rohingya communities.

Citizenship remains at the heart of the crisis.

Myanmar’s 1982 Citizenship Law and subsequent administrative practices have effectively rendered most Rohingya stateless. Without addressing this legal exclusion, rights advocates argue, physically returning refugees would not resolve the conditions that forced generations of Rohingya to flee.

A sustainable return would therefore require more than an agreement between governments.

Rohingya would need credible guarantees of citizenship and legal identity, freedom of movement, equal access to public services, protection from arbitrary arrest and violence, restoration or compensation for confiscated land and property, and the ability to return voluntarily to places of their own choosing.

They would also need effective mechanisms to seek justice when those guarantees are violated.

Malaysia currently hosts approximately 126,000 Rohingya registered with UNHCR, alongside tens of thousands of other refugees and asylum seekers from Myanmar.

The Malaysian government has increasingly sought greater control over refugee registration and management. It introduced its own refugee registration system in 2026 and has asked UNHCR to temporarily suspend new registrations while the new mechanism is developed.

The proposed return has emerged amid rising hostility towards Rohingya in Malaysia, including harassment, threats and pressure on some families to leave their homes.

These circumstances have intensified concern that domestic political or social pressure could influence decisions presented as repatriation.

For a return to qualify as voluntary, refugees must be able to make an informed decision free from coercion, detention, threats, discriminatory restrictions or pressure created by increasingly hostile living conditions in the host country.

Bangladesh, which currently hosts around 1.2 million Rohingya refugees, has also pursued repatriation discussions with Myanmar for years. No significant organised return has taken place because refugees have repeatedly said that citizenship, security and fundamental rights must first be guaranteed.

The experience demonstrates the limits of treating repatriation primarily as a diplomatic arrangement between states.

Any credible solution must include Rohingya themselves in decisions concerning their future.

ASEAN members, the United Nations and other international actors should therefore scrutinise not only whether Myanmar agrees to accept a particular number of refugees, but also where they would be sent, what legal status they would receive, which authority would guarantee their security and whether independent organisations would be able to monitor their treatment after return.

Until those questions are answered, the proposed transfer of 5,000 Rohingya should not be presented as a solution to the refugee crisis.

Moving refugees from Malaysia to Myanmar without transforming the conditions that produced their displacement risks simply returning them to the structures of statelessness, insecurity and persecution from which they fled.

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by Hafizur Rahman

Sittwe, Arakan State | August 6, 2026

Rohingya residents in Sittwe Township, including families displaced by the conflict, say junta-controlled security forces are increasingly subjecting community members to arbitrary arrest, prolonged incommunicado detention, and demands for money in exchange for their release.

Residents told Rohingya Khobor that police officers, soldiers, military intelligence personnel, and Border Guard Police have detained Rohingya after accusing them of involvement in human trafficking or maintaining links with the Arakan Army.

In several reported cases, families said the authorities provided no evidence supporting the allegations and gave them no formal information about where their relatives were being held, what charges they faced, or when they might be released.

Some Rohingya have allegedly been detained because their names resemble those appearing on security-force suspect lists. Community members fear that loosely framed accusations are being used both to intimidate residents and to extract money from detainees’ families.

“We are ordinary people trying to survive,” one Rohingya resident told Rohingya Khobor. “Every knock on the door fills our families with fear.”

Local sources said some detainees were not taken to regular police stations. They were reportedly transferred to military intelligence offices or military bases, making it difficult for relatives to locate them or seek legal assistance.

Families of some detainees were subsequently approached or indirectly pressured to pay money to secure their release, according to the sources. Rohingya Khobor could not independently verify the alleged payments or determine which officials may have demanded them.

One recent case involved a Rohingya humanitarian worker living in the Baw Du Pha-2 displacement camp. Police reportedly arrived at his shelter on July 23 and told him that he was required only for questioning.

He was then taken away. His family said they had received little reliable information about his location, legal status, or condition since his detention.

In a separate case, security personnel reportedly detained a 70-year-old Rohingya man from Thetkepyin village after claiming that his name matched the name of someone on a suspect list. More than a week later, relatives said he had not returned home and that authorities had not formally explained the basis of his detention.

A member of the Camp Management Committee in the Mothi Nya displacement camp was also reportedly detained after officials said his name resembled that of another person being sought. His family similarly said it had received no official information about his whereabouts or physical condition.

“If our names are similar to someone else’s, does that mean we must lose our freedom?” another Rohingya resident asked.

Rohingya Khobor has withheld the names of the detainees and witnesses because their relatives fear retaliation from security forces.

The reported arrests come as Sittwe remains under junta control and military tensions continue around the township. Residents said the conflict has intensified surveillance and suspicion toward Rohingya civilians, who already face severe restrictions on movement and limited access to legal protection.

Rohingya living in areas controlled by the Arakan Army report facing a parallel pattern of suspicion. Residents in those areas say some have been detained or questioned after being accused of maintaining links with the Myanmar military or Rohingya armed organisations.

The allegations against the two armed authorities are distinct and could not all be independently verified. However, Rohingya residents say civilians are routinely treated as potential collaborators by whichever armed actor controls the area where they live.

“We are caught in the middle,” a Rohingya community member said. “One side suspects us of helping the other, and the other side makes the same accusation. We just want to live in peace.”

Arbitrary or unacknowledged detention leaves Rohingya families particularly vulnerable because they often lack access to lawyers, formal complaint mechanisms, or institutions capable of independently investigating abuses by armed authorities.

Residents called for the immediate disclosure of detainees’ locations, formal notification of any charges, access to legal representation and family members, and the release of anyone held without credible evidence.

They also demanded investigations into allegations that security personnel have used detention and threats to extort money from Rohingya families.

Rohingya Khobor could not obtain responses from the junta authorities or the Arakan Army regarding the allegations before publication.

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by Hafizur Rahman

Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Cox’s Bazar | August 5, 2026

An 11-month-old Rohingya boy was critically injured in a shooting inside his family’s shelter in Camp 2 East in Ukhiya on Tuesday night, according to the Armed Police Battalion.

The injured child, identified as Mohammad Arman, was taken to the Médecins Sans Frontières hospital in Kutupalong for emergency treatment. He reportedly sustained a gunshot wound to the abdomen.

The incident occurred at approximately 8:30 p.m. in Block E-06 of the camp.

The 14 Armed Police Battalion arrested the child’s father, Abdur Mobin, shortly after the shooting. Police allege that a firearm in his possession discharged inside the shelter and struck his infant son.

The firearm had not been recovered at the time of reporting. Police said an operation was underway to locate the weapon and establish the full circumstances surrounding the shooting.

Local residents rushed to the shelter after hearing the gunshot. They found the injured child and took him to the MSF hospital for treatment.

According to the 14 APBn, Abdur Mobin initially claimed that members of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army had attacked him and that he had also been shot.

Officers who examined him reportedly found no gunshot injury. Police therefore alleged that he had fabricated the account in an attempt to conceal how the child was wounded.

The APBn also alleged that Abdur Mobin is affiliated with the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation. Rohingya Khobor could not independently verify either his alleged organisational affiliation or the police account of how the firearm discharged.

Additional Deputy Inspector General Mohammad Siraj Amin, commanding officer of the 14 APBn, said legal proceedings had been initiated against the arrested man.

He said security personnel were conducting a special operation to recover the weapon allegedly used in the shooting and would continue operations against unauthorised firearms in the refugee camps.

The incident has renewed concern about the presence of firearms inside densely populated camps, where an accidental or deliberate shooting can place children and neighbouring families at immediate risk.

Authorities have not yet publicly disclosed the child’s latest medical condition, the type of weapon involved, or whether any firearm-related charge has formally been filed against the suspect.

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by Hafizur Rahman

August 4, 2026

Rohingya residents in Sittwe Township say they are being prevented from travelling by air even after completing a newly introduced approval process, with airport authorities imposing additional requirements that were never officially announced.

On July 22, the Sittwe District General Administration Department held a meeting with Camp Management Committees from Rohingya displacement camps and village administrators across the township. Officials outlined a new procedure for Rohingya holding National Registration Cards or National Verification Cards who wished to fly to Yangon, Mandalay, or other cities.

Under the announced procedure, applicants must first obtain a recommendation letter from their village leader or Camp Management Committee chairperson. They must also submit copies of their NRC or NVC, household registration list, and a passport-size photograph.

The documents must then receive endorsements from the relevant village administrator, Sittwe Township Police Station No. 1, the township administrator, and the district administrator. Applicants must finally attend an interview and undergo document verification by the Immigration Department.

Local authorities began enforcing the procedure during the final week of July.

However, Rohingya residents told Rohingya Khobor that completing every officially announced step did not guarantee permission to travel. At the airport, some passengers were reportedly presented with additional conditions that had not been mentioned during the July 22 meeting.

“I followed every instruction and collected all the required documents, but the airport authorities still refused to let me travel,” one Rohingya man told Rohingya Khobor. “They asked for another letter that was never mentioned in the official rules.”

According to local sources, a Rohingya passenger was stopped at Sittwe Airport on July 29 because he did not have a recommendation letter from a military battalion stationed near Manzi Junction in Sittwe Township.

The requirement for military approval had not been included in the procedure announced by the General Administration Department.

“We keep following the new rules, but every time we reach the airport, they create another condition,” another Rohingya resident said. “It feels as though they do not want us to travel at all.”

Two more Rohingya men were reportedly prevented from boarding flights on July 31. Airport officials allegedly told them that their applications must include photographs taken by the authorities showing each applicant standing in front of his home in an internally displaced persons’ camp or village.

The men had already completed the previously announced approval process but were turned away because they did not possess the additional photographs.

“These extra demands are being imposed only on Rohingya,” a community member said. “Even when we obtain all the official documents, new requirements appear without any notice.”

Residents said the constantly changing conditions force applicants to spend additional time and money collecting documents, securing recommendations, and travelling between administrative offices, without knowing whether they will ultimately be allowed to board their flights.

The restrictions also expose Rohingya travellers to arbitrary decisions by police, immigration officials, military personnel, and local administrators at multiple stages of the process.

Rohingya in Sittwe have faced severe restrictions on their freedom of movement since communal violence and mass displacement in 2012. Many remain confined to displacement camps and segregated villages, where access to education, healthcare, employment, markets, and travel outside the township is tightly controlled.

Although NRC and NVC holders possess documents issued or recognised by Myanmar authorities, Rohingya residents say the documents do not protect them from discriminatory travel restrictions.

The National Verification Card system is also widely rejected by Rohingya because it does not recognise them as citizens or acknowledge their Rohingya identity. Instead, the verification process has frequently treated them as people required to prove that they qualify for citizenship in their own country.

The latest airport incidents indicate that the newly announced travel procedure has not created a predictable or transparent system. Instead, Rohingya passengers remain subject to unannounced demands and discretionary decisions that can prevent them from travelling even after they have met all stated requirements.

Residents called on the authorities to publish a clear and complete travel procedure, end discriminatory requirements, and ensure that Rohingya are not arbitrarily prevented from travelling after receiving official approval.

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by Hafizur Rahman

Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh | August 3, 2026

Australia has announced AUD 25.25 million in humanitarian assistance to support Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh over the next three years, from 2026 to 2028.

The funding was announced jointly by the Australian Government and the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR. According to UNHCR, the support will help provide protection services, skills training and disaster risk reduction programmes in the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar.

Australia’s Assistant Minister Julian Hill said Australia would continue to stand with Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh. He said Rohingya refugees can return to Myanmar only when conditions are safe and when the root causes of the crisis are addressed.

He stressed that any return must be voluntary, safe and dignified.

UNHCR Acting Representative Juliette Murekeyisoni welcomed Australia’s continued support, saying it sends an important message that the Rohingya people have not been forgotten at a time when humanitarian funding is declining globally.

UNHCR also warned that funding shortages are making daily life increasingly difficult for refugees. The agency said nearly 900 Rohingya were reported missing or died in 2025 while attempting dangerous sea journeys.

Since 2024, around 150,000 newly arrived Rohingya have also reached the camps in Bangladesh, adding further pressure to an already underfunded humanitarian response.

The latest Australian contribution comes as Rohingya refugees continue to face severe restrictions, insecurity, reduced assistance and uncertainty about their future. Many families in the camps remain dependent on humanitarian aid for food, shelter, healthcare, education and protection.

UNHCR said continued international support is urgently needed until conditions in Myanmar allow Rohingya refugees to return home safely, voluntarily and with dignity.

For Rohingya communities, the announcement provides important support, but it also underlines a larger reality: humanitarian aid can help refugees survive in exile, but it cannot replace the need for rights, citizenship, security and justice in their homeland.

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by Hafizur Rahman

Maungdaw, Arakan | August 2, 2026

Residents of Thu U Hla Village in northern Maungdaw Township say the Arakan Army has begun cutting down trees and bamboo owned by Rohingya families to build a new military base on land they claim belongs to Rohingya villagers.

According to local residents, preparations for the base began several days ago. Villagers said AA members had asked the community to provide building materials and had taken timber and bamboo from private land without the owners’ permission.

Residents also said all bamboo belonging to the village mosque had already been cut down.

Several ethnic Rakhine workers were reportedly brought from nearby areas to assist with construction. They are currently staying at the village school while preparations for the new camp continue, according to villagers.

Rohingya residents said the trees and bamboo being cut had been planted and maintained by families over many years. Many said they were too afraid to object because AA members were armed and villagers feared being beaten or otherwise punished if they spoke out.

“We planted these trees with our own hands for many years, but now they are cutting everything down without asking us. If we say anything, we are afraid we will be beaten,” one Rohingya villager told Rohingya Khobor.

Another resident said the community felt powerless as land, trees and religious property were being taken.

“Our land, our trees, and even the bamboo from our mosque are being taken. We have no way to protect what belongs to us. We can only watch in silence,” the resident said.

A third villager described a growing sense of fear and confinement under current conditions.

“We survived one kind of oppression, but now we feel trapped again. We cannot move freely, we cannot speak freely, and now we are losing our land and property as well,” the villager said.

Local residents said the reported seizure of land and property, combined with movement restrictions and fear of retaliation, has deepened anxiety among Rohingya families about their future and safety in northern Maungdaw.

The allegations could not be independently verified. Rohingya Khobor was not able to confirm whether the land has been formally confiscated, whether any compensation has been offered, or whether AA authorities have issued any official order regarding the construction.

The reported incident adds to wider concerns among Rohingya communities in northern Arakan about land control, property rights, forced contributions and restrictions on daily life under changing armed authority in the region.

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by Hafizur Rahman

Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh | July 31, 2026

Hundreds of Rohingya refugees gathered in Camp 8W in Cox’s Bazar on Friday during the visit of a senior U.S. envoy, calling for voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable repatriation to Myanmar with full citizenship, equal rights, security, justice and international protection.

The peaceful demonstration was organised by the United Council of Rohingya (UCR) under the theme “Hope Is Home.” Participants held placards and banners urging the international community to help create conditions that would allow Rohingya to return to their homeland in Arakan with rights and protection.

The demonstrators said the current situation in Myanmar does not provide the conditions necessary for safe return. They stressed that repatriation cannot be treated as a real solution unless Rohingya are guaranteed citizenship, freedom, security and justice.

“Our return to Arakan must be voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable. It must guarantee full citizenship, equal rights, security, justice and international protection. Without these, repatriation cannot be a real solution,” one protester told Rohingya Khobor.

Another participant said the gathering showed that Rohingya refugees still want to return home, but not under unsafe or uncertain conditions.

“Seeing hundreds of our Rohingya brothers peacefully raise their voices in Camp 8W gave us hope. We are not asking for anything extraordinary. We simply want to return home with dignity, safety and justice,” he said.

A third participant said Rohingya refugees were tired of life in exile and wanted their future restored in their homeland.

“No more refugee life. Returning home is our right. You have your home; we miss ours. Our only dream is to return to Arakan with full citizenship, our rights, dignity and future restored,” he said.

The protesters also called for Rohingya representatives to be included in all discussions and decisions about their future. They said host countries, international organisations and foreign governments often discuss repatriation without meaningful participation from Rohingya communities themselves.

“No one asks what the Rohingya people need. Decisions about our future are often made without including Rohingya representatives or listening to our voices,” one participant said.

Another protester added, “Host countries discuss and plan Rohingya repatriation, yet the Rohingya themselves are too often left unheard. Any decision about our future should include meaningful participation from our community.”

A Rohingya youth at the demonstration said lasting solutions could not be achieved without direct Rohingya involvement.

“I hope Rohingya representatives will be included in all discussions and decision-making processes that affect our future. Nothing about us should be decided without us,” he said.

The demonstrators also appealed to the United States to continue its leadership in responding to the Rohingya crisis. They urged stronger international efforts to ensure accountability for atrocities committed against the Rohingya and to support a durable solution based on rights, justice and protection.

Participants expressed appreciation for continued U.S. humanitarian assistance, describing the United States as one of the largest donors to the Rohingya refugee response in Bangladesh. They said they remained hopeful that sustained international engagement could help create the conditions needed for their safe and dignified return.

Rohingya refugees have repeatedly said they want to return to Myanmar only when their rights, citizenship, security and freedom of movement are guaranteed. Previous repatriation efforts have failed because refugees refused to return without credible protection and justice.

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