Terrorist Arakan Army (AA) Forcing Rohingya Youth — Including Women — Into Military Training in Maungdaw
New evidence from northern Rakhine confirms that the terrorist Arakan Army (AA), a narco-funded militant group, has begun forcibly recruiting Rohingya youth — both male and female — for military training in the Maungdaw region.
According to multiple local sources, the order was issued during a meeting held on October 20 in Old Hlafokhaung village, in northern Maungdaw. Representatives of the terrorist AA and its political wing, the United League of Arakan (ULA), informed Rohingya local administrators that each family must send at least one member — male or female — for “revolutionary duty.”
If a household lacks an adult male, the female members must join instead. Those who refuse to send a family member have been ordered to pay money as an alternative “tax” — effectively a ransom to avoid forced conscription.
Threats and Fear Among Rohingya Families
One Rohingya village administrator, speaking anonymously for safety, said:
“They (the AA) told us this is for their upcoming revolution and that every Rohingya must participate. Each village must send 150–200 young men and women. If we don’t comply, they threatened us with severe punishment.”
Residents report widespread panic and despair. Families fear separation and punishment.
A Rohingya father said:
“My wife and children depend on me. If I am taken, no one will care for them. The last group they took never returned.”
Militarizing Civilians for War
Local intelligence confirms that despite claiming it is for “security,” the terrorist Arakan Army (AA) is in reality sending these forced recruits to frontline combat zones in Rakhine and Chin State.
The group is exploiting vulnerable Rohingya communities to fill its ranks amid manpower shortages, while its top leadership profits from the region’s booming narcotics trade and arms trafficking.
This coercion marks a new escalation in the terrorist AA’s campaign of human rights abuses — adding forced conscription and gender-based coercion to its record of torture, abduction, and killings.
A Community Caught Between Terror and Silence
Many Rohingya families are now considering dangerous escapes across the border into Bangladesh, fearing that their sons and daughters will be forced into the AA’s war.
Humanitarian observers warn that such practices constitute a war crime under international law, violating the Geneva Conventions and the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict.
Despite the terrorist AA’s claim of protecting Rakhine, it has become evident that the group’s true nature lies in narcotics trafficking, extortion, and the militarization of civilians.
The terrorist Arakan Army (AA) — a narco-terror organization — continues to terrorize the Rohingya population, using fear, coercion, and violence to maintain control.