RSO abducts young men from refugee camps in Bangladesh, sells them to junta

By Admin 23 May 2024

DMG Newsroom
23 May 2024, Sittwe

The Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) has been abducting young men from Muslim refugee camps in Bangladesh, selling them to the regime to use them as soldiers.

The RSO abducted more than 30 young men from the Kutupalong refugee camp on Tuesday and attempted to sell them to the regime, according to Muslim refugees.

“RSO members were putting young men from our camp onto a truck. So, we gathered and beat them with sticks. Some were caught and some managed to escape. We could rescue young men from our camp,” said a refugee who asked for anonymity.

Over 10 RSO members were detained and handed over to Bangladeshi police.

The RSO has a history of taking young Muslim men from refugee camps in Bangladesh for military training and forcing them to fight alongside junta troops in Arakan State, according to Muslim refugees.

Refugees have called on Bangladeshi authorities to take action against RSO’s abduction of Muslim refugees.

“The RSO is selling young men as soldiers to the Myanmar military. The RSO is blatantly abducting people from the camp. And Bangladeshi police do nothing,” said another Muslim refugee.

The RSO has abducted more than 200 Muslim refugees and sold them to the regime, according to Muslim refugees.

In a statement on Monday, the ULA/AA accused the regime of militarily cooperating with such Muslim armed groups as the RSO, Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and Arakan Rohingya Army (ARA), saying the regime was resorting to various means to cause racial and religious conflicts.

The RSO was active in 1982 on the Bangladeshi-Arakan State border. It had not been militarily active since 1988, but became active again after the 2021 coup, and has joined the regime to fight the AA in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships.