Washington —

Video footage recently obtained by VOA shows Rohingya in internally displaced persons camps being trained as soldiers in Rakhine state, the scene of fierce fighting between Myanmar’s military junta and ethnic armed groups.

The video shows young refugees armed with weapons and undergoing military training, revealing what appears to be forced recruitment by the junta. Experts and witnesses say they believe the young recruits will be used as human shields by the junta in its bid to regain territory lost in recent fighting with the Arakan Army in Rakhine state.

The Rohingya are a predominantly Muslim minority group that have faced persecution and discrimination in Myanmar for decades.

Denied citizenship under the 1982 Citizenship Act, they have been subject to systematic discrimination, violence and eviction from their homes in Rakhine State, which borders Bangladesh to the north. The junta has long characterized the Rohingya as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, marginalizing them from society.

The military junta, which seized power in a widely condemned bloody coup more than three years ago, imposed a militia conscription law on February 10. Soon after, rumors began to circulate that Muslims from Rakhine State were being arrested and forced to join the army.

Despite the junta’s denials, a video released on March 6 showed about 300 Rohingya youths in an internally displaced persons camp near Sittwe, the junta-controlled capital of Rakhine State, being forced to wear military uniforms and sit in a large In the warehouse. The video also shows Rakhine State Security and Border Affairs Minister Colonel Kyaw Thura supervising the operation.

On March 6, 2024, it was estimated that more than 300 Rohingya were sent for military training and forced to wear military uniforms. The video records a visit by Colonel Kyaw Tullah, the Minister of Security and Border Affairs of Rakhine State under Myanmar’s military junta. (UGC courtesy video)

The deputy human rights representative of Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG) said that “the military junta is trying to exploit the Rohingya people” amid continued losses in fighting with the Arakan Army (AA), a powerful ethnic armed group based in Rakhine state. Used as human shields for political gain.” Human Rights Minister Aung Kyaw Moe was interviewed on Zoom. The NUG sees itself as Myanmar’s shadow government.

“The junta, which suffered a disastrous defeat in the battle with the Arakan Army, is exploiting the Rohingya because it needs to strengthen its ranks, taking them from refugee camps where there is no land to escape to,” he said. Aung Kyaw Moe, the first Rohingya minister of NUG.

Arakan Army

The Arakan Army, founded in 2009 by young Rakhine leaders, is a well-trained and well-equipped military faction representing the Buddhist minority. It is part of the Three Brothers Alliance, which includes the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army.

The alliance has scored a number of major victories against the military junta since last October’s Operation 1027, in which it lost significant territory and troops.

According to Rakhine State observers, the Arakan Army has an estimated 45,000 troops. The group seeks autonomy from Myanmar’s central government in Rakhine State and aims to “restore the sovereignty of the Rakhine people,” according to its online mission statement. The name Rakhine is another name used to refer to the Rakhine people.

The battle between the military junta and the AA began in November 2023 and is fierce. In January and February this year, the junta carried out attacks on air defense units stationed in Rohingya villages, some of which used heavy artillery, killing dozens of Rohingya civilians, according to local human rights groups.

Forced recruitment tactics

Local Rohingya sources confirmed to VOA that about 500 Rohingya youths from Myanmar’s military-controlled internally displaced persons camps have received military training, raising concerns about forced recruitment tactics.

A young Rohingya man who requested anonymity for security reasons told VOA: “As the army was enforcing conscription laws, junta commanders visited the territory of Sittwe and Rohingya villages around February 11-13. Displaced persons camps, areas they had previously avoided.” Consultations with camp leaders were then used to force us to take up arms, citing our obligations as Burmese citizens under the conscription law.

“Moreover,” he said, “they threaten us with dire consequences for those who refuse to take up arms.”

Since 2017, about 1 million Rohingya refugees have been forced to flee Myanmar and seek asylum in neighboring Bangladesh. In addition, an estimated 630,000 Rohingya are considered stateless by the United Nations and face movement restrictions within Rakhine State.

“The Rohingya have suffered severe repression by the Myanmar military, to the point of accusations of genocide in Rakhine State, and are now being coerced by the military into joining their ranks and serving as human shields against the Arakan Army. Young Rohingya from the village Hingya people cannot flee to neighboring Bangladesh,” the Rohingya youth said.

Multiple videos have emerged on social media showing recruited Rohingya wearing uniforms, holding rifles, riding in military trucks and undergoing military training in the wild. VOA checked with local sources and confirmed that the incidents occurred last week near Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State.

On March 9, 2024, dozens of Rohingya youths received military training from military junta forces in Sittwe, Myanmar. (UGC courtesy video)

A spokesman for the junta has not yet responded to VOA’s questions about the videos, one of which shows the Rakhine state border minister wearing military uniform visiting Rohingya.

consequences of coercion

“Initially, the junta claimed that because the Rohingya were not citizens, they had no reason to give them military training,” Aung Kyaw Moe told VOA. “The junta said this was fake news, but the video we received Proof, they put them through military training.” The Rohingya put on uniforms and gave them military training. “

Although the young men were forced into military service, the video showed them talking and laughing and appearing unaware of their situation.

“A Rohingya child who has been held in a refugee camp since he was 6 years old is now 18 years old. This child has no idea what is going on in the outside world,” the deputy minister said. “There are hundreds of thousands of people who have been locked up in refugee camps for years, not knowing what is going on outside. The military junta knows this and is exploiting it.

“On the other hand,” he added, “among the Rohingya and other ethnic groups, there are leaders who do business with the military government and organize the Rohingya according to their wishes.”

Historical coexistence

Aung Kyaw Moe also highlighted consultations between the National Alliance for National Alliance and the Arakan Army on the Rohingya issue in Rakhine State.

He told VOA: “The Arakan Army condemns the forced recruitment of Rohingyas, citing their historical coexistence. Historically, the Rohingya Muslim and Arakan Buddhist communities have maintained peaceful coexistence, characterized by Mutual respect and cooperation.

“Despite occasional tensions,” he continued, “the two communities often coexisted side by side, integrating culturally and economically. This historical bond is a testament to the resilience of the region’s communal harmony.”

Hold the military government accountable

“The military junta is the common enemy,” the young Rohingya man told VOA. “Not just the Rohingya, but the entire country. We have to question why [it] Arm us now. The military exploits the suffering of the Rohingya people for profit. “

Miemie Winn Byrd, a former U.S. Army lieutenant colonel and expert on Myanmar-U.S. military relations, said it was ironic that the same military responsible for brutally killing thousands of Rohingyas was now arming them stand up.

“Today the military government is saying that the Rohingya are citizens and should be drafted into the army, while the military government has been saying that they are not citizens,” she said in a recent interview with Voice of America. “This highlights the current government’s lack of legitimacy.

“They do whatever they want because they are not a legitimate government; they are essentially a group trying to intimidate the country. So it is not surprising to see them behaving like this because they are not a professional organization.”

Aung Kyaw Moe stressed that the military government’s exploitation of vulnerable Rohingya people violated international law.

“This is inhumane and a clear violation of provisional measures issued by the World Court calling for the prevention of genocide against the Rohingya minority,” he said.

“The military junta must be held accountable for these serious violations of human rights and violations of international law.”