Fearing abduction, young male Muslim refugees go into hiding in Bangladesh 

By Admin 30 Jul 2024

DMG Newsroom
30 July 2024, Sittwe

Hundreds of young Muslim men from refugee camps in Bangladesh have gone into hiding due to ongoing abductions and forced conscription.

Refugees said Muslim armed groups such as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) abduct young people from the refugee camps in Bangladesh and turn them over to the military regime.

“They abduct young men on the streets and hand them over to the regime. The regime gives them military training and forces them to fight. So, young refugees have fled the camps. I heard some abductees have been killed in fighting,” said a refugee from the Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh.

The RSO has denied abducting Muslim refugees and sending them to Myanmar or cooperating with the regime, Fortify Rights noted in a July 26 report.

The two RSO leaders denied reports of forcible conscription of Muslim refugees in May and June, said Fortify Rights.

Many refugees in Bangladesh are attempting to relocate to a third country due to economic hardships at the camps and the risk of forced conscription. Some have died on their way.

“Young people dare not stay at refugee camps. Some are fleeing to Malaysia by paying agents,” said another Muslim refugee from the Kutupalong refugee camp.

Myanmar military counterinsurgency operations following attacks by ARSA militants in northern Arakan State in 2017 led to the mass exodus of more than 700,000 people to Bangladesh. They have since been living in refugee camps in Bangladesh.