The Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights (ARSPHR) has reported that the Arakan Army (AA) is escalating its systematic confiscation of Rohingya villages and farmland across Maungdaw Township as part of efforts to expand Rakhine settlements in the area.
According to ARSPHR, AA forces are demolishing long-established Rohingya villages and redistributing agricultural land and property legally owned by Rohingya families to newly arrived Rakhine settlers. The organization warns that these actions indicate a pattern of forced displacement and a deliberate attempt to alter the region’s demographic makeup.
Despite more than 1.2 million Rohingya genocide survivors already displaced to Cox’s Bazar and across Rakhine State, verified reports confirm that AA militants have destroyed several remaining Rohingya villages in Maungdaw. Paddy fields and registered farmland belonging to Rohingya families are being seized without consent under the AA–ULA administration.
Local sources say that under the so-called “Rakhita Roadmap,” lists of homeless and displaced Rakhine families are being compiled. Although presented as a population-balancing initiative, the plan is being used to justify the creation of new Rakhine settlements on land previously inhabited by Rohingya communities. Independent media have documented similar activities throughout Maungdaw Township.
Eyewitnesses told Arakan Update that abandoned Rohingya villages and surrounding farmland are being systematically taken over. New Rakhine households are reportedly receiving one to two acres of land, depending on family size. Settlements are being constructed directly on the ruins of Rohingya homes, heightening fear among displaced communities.
“Our Rohingya community is under constant threat. We are not stateless. Myanmar is our homeland, and our rights must be respected,” ARSPHR stated.
Residents confirmed that the AA–ULA administration is establishing new villages along key routes, including former Rohingya villages such as Nwar Yone Taung, Khawli Zarr, Kyikanpyin, Wabet, Phar Wap Chaung, Myo Taung, and Kyain Chaung. Intact Rohingya homes are being occupied by Rakhine settlers, while damaged houses are being cleared. In southern Maungdaw—where more than fifty Rohingya villages were burned in 2017—new Buddhist Rakhine settlements are now being constructed. Farmland left behind by displaced Rohingya owners is being redistributed, further entrenching demographic transformation in the region.
The Rohingya community stresses that under the Rakhita Roadmap, the AA–ULA is systematically confiscating Rohingya land to expand Rakhine presence and tighten control over the strategic Arakan–Bangladesh border zone.
