Families make donations for Maungdaw villagers abducted by ARSA

By Admin 13 Nov 2025

DMG Newsroom

13 November 2025, Maungdaw

Family members of three residents from Kin Chaung Village, Maungdaw Township, who were abducted by the Muslim armed group Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), made donations in the second week of November.

On 24 October, three villagers - including a young woman who was herding cattle near Kin Chaung Village - were abducted by ARSA and remain missing.

"All the family members have assumed that those captured by ARSA are dead. So, they are making donations for all three of them and sharing merit. It has been almost a month and a half since they were captured, so there is no hope. The family members are still grieving," said a Kin Chaung villager.

ARSA members attempted to intimidate and arrest villagers herding cattle at the foot of Mount Mayu near Kin Chaung Village at around 8 a.m. on October 24. Three villagers managed to escape, but three were captured.

Those abducted are 10-year-old Ma Nyein Sandar, 40-year-old U Maung Ba Tun, and 22-year-old Maung Tun Aye.

Villagers in Kin Chaung rely on the forest for their livelihoods, and locals say they are now facing difficulties due to fears of ARSA attacks.

"Locals don't dare to go to the mountains. These areas are full of mountains and forests, so they are a good place for ARSA to hide. It's difficult for villagers to go to the mountains to find food and firewood," said another Kin Chaung resident.

Local ethnic communities in rural areas of Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships are facing psychological and physical insecurity due to the threat posed by ARSA.

A local man from Ngwetaung Village in Maungdaw Township was killed by ARSA while herding cattle on November 7.

Two women were killed and two men injured when ARSA opened fire on a passenger vehicle traveling from Cedipyin Village in Rathedaung Township to Kyaukpandu Village in Maungdaw Township on October 22.

ARSA, which was previously active mainly along the Bangladesh border and in northern Maungdaw, has now infiltrated southern Maungdaw and continues to carry out killings and abductions of local civilians.

"The security situation is very worrying as ARSA has entered villages, arrested and killed people. I feel unsafe even in my own village. I don't dare to go from one place to another. I want the Arakan Army to suppress ARSA so that this danger is eliminated," said a woman in Maungdaw.

According to local residents, around nine villages in Maungdaw Township have fled their homes due to threats from Muslim armed groups.

The Arakan Army is reportedly pursuing and clearing Muslim armed groups and has warned locals to be especially cautious in their movements.