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RAKHINE STATE – People close to the Rohingyas who took part in protests against the Arakan Army (AA) reported that the junta council forced the Rohingyas into the protest, threatening to burn down their homes if they refused.
“They demanded 1,000 people from the local people and the refugees to protest against AA. They said that we had to do it (the protests) and said that they would burn down our homes if we didn’t carry out the protests. That’s why we had to do it,” said a resident from a Rohingya refugee camp in Sittwe.
Several Rohingyas in Sittwe held a protest on April 20 against AA, with signs calling it a terrorist organisation, and junta propaganda telegram channels spread the news of the protest.
The resident from the refugee camp revealed that junta officers and the junta council’s Rakhine State government were behind those protests; they called for a meeting at the state government office in Sittwe and pressured the Rohingyas to protest against AA, threatening to burn down their homes and tighten restrictions on the refugees if they refused.
Activists working for the Rohingyas also reported that the junta council similarly pressured protests against the Arakan Army in Buthitaung and Maungtaw Townships as well.
Meanwhile, AA has warned that the junta council is adding fire to ethnic conflicts as it faces loss after loss in the battleground in Rakhine State and advised to pay attention to the situation.
“The terrorist fascist junta council has trained and armed some extremist Muslim insurgents. They deployed those insurgents in Buthitaung and nearby villages and made them shout out anti-Rakhine slogans,” AA spokesperson Mr. Khine Thukha warned on April 13.
HRW has also published a report, warning that the junta council is threatening, pressuring and forcibly conscripting Rohingyas and using them in battles against AA.
AA has launched offensives against junta council camps in Buthitaung and Maungtaw, having successfully captured a considerable number of junta camps, including border security camps. At present, AA is conducting a fierce offensive on Buthitaung-based junta Military Operations Command 15 and light infantry battalion 551 while the junta council is desperately defending using aerial attacks.
Local media has also warned that the junta council forces in Buthitaung are continuously encouraging incitements to cause ethnic and religious conflicts in Buthitaung by setting fire to houses belonging to Rakhine people, all so they can avoid the offensive of the Arakan Army.
“Not all Muslim people are working with the junta council. We believe that Muslim leaders of good character will speak the truth and handle the community,” said Mr. Khine Thukha.