Maungdaw man reportedly shot dead by ARSA

By Admin 05 Dec 2024

DMG Newsroom
5 December 2024, Maungdaw

A man from Aungzeya Village, part of Arakan State's Maungdaw Township, was shot dead by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on Wednesday evening, according to local residents.

U Kyaw Thar Aung, in his 60s, was gunned down by ARSA members while herding his cattle on pastureland near the village on December 4.

"He [U Kyaw Thar Aung] was shot dead by ARSA at around 5 p.m. yesterday, but we learned of the news today. ARSA continues to harm civilians. Locals are even afraid of going to their farmlands to harvest paddy," said a resident of Maungdaw.

Muslim armed groups such as ARSA, the Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) and the Arakan Rohingya Army (ARA) are active in Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships and along the Mayu mountain range, where they are known to arrest, kill, abduct, shoot and extort local residents.

A group of seven locals were attacked by ARSA members near Meetaik Village on October 6 as they were returning from Taungpyo Town in northern Maungdaw Township after purchasing commodities.

"In Maungdaw, the worry about ARSA is like a constant haunting. The locals will not dare to go anywhere now that they have to face the killings of ARSA," said Ma Htay Htay Myint, an internally displaced person (IDP) from Maungdaw Township.

From July through October, at least 16 civilians were killed and 10 others were injured in ambushes and killings by ARSA in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships from July to October.

Arakanese and tribal members as well as Hindus and Muslims in Maungdaw are living in fear and anxiety amid the danger of Muslim armed groups.

"There is no support for the Muslim armed groups because they harass the people in various ways. We have never had any contact with these organisations before," Ko Nomohtawphar, a Muslim man from 4th-Mile Village who was released after being arrested by the RSO, said in a recent interview with DMG.

ARSA, RSO and ARA have also ambushed Arakkha Army (AA) troops in Maungdaw Township and the two sides have clashed from time to time.

The AA has launched an offensive against the military regime's Border Guard Force Battalion No. 5 and armed Muslim militiamen in Maungdaw. The ethnic armed group has made clear that it will not allow any other armed organisation to establish itself in Arakan State.