صراط عشق صراط عشق
Thousands of Rohingya Muslims could be targeted and forced to leave their homes after a rebel group announced plans to attack Maungdawm.
In a statement on Sunday, the group said all residents “are urged to avoid staying in areas such as roads and houses.”
Rohingya activist Wai Wai Nu said she recently spoke to Maungdaw locals who felt trapped.
“The road from Maungdaw to Buthidaung and Sittwe is closed … so they have nowhere to flee,” she told the ABC.
Nay San Lwin, co-founder of the Free Rohingya Coalition advocacy group, also spoke to Rohingya locals in Maungdaw who are living in fear.
“With the Myanmar military base located outside the town and a warning from the Arakan Army just before an important religious festival on Tuesday, they feel specifically targeted,” he told the ABC.
The UN has received “frightening and disturbing reports” in May of new violence against Rohingya civilians by both the military and the Arakan Army.
The Arakan Army, which seeks autonomy from Myanmar’s central government, began its offensive in Rakhine state about six months ago.
The Rohingya have faced decades of persecution and, after a 2017 crackdown by the military, nearly one million fled to Bangladesh, and “at least 392” villages were partially or wholly burned to the ground.
