Narinjara News, April 30, 2025 

The Daily Star, an English-language newspaper based in Bangladesh, has circulated misleading information claiming that the AA has forcibly removed Rohingyas from Maungdaw and Buthidaung, while Rakhine individuals from Bangladesh, India, and Nepal are being relocated to those regions. 

There have been comments that this misinformation is being disseminated inaccurately and is causing a larger issue in Rakhine. 

On April 29, the article "Rohingyas fleeing Arakan Army persecution" stated that the Arakan Army has driven Rohingyas from their residences and relocated Rakhine from nations like Bangladesh, Nepal, and India into those regions. 

This is the reason the Rohingya are fleeing to Bangladesh, as stated by Zubair, the head of the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights. 

U Myat Tun, director of the Arakan Human Rights Defenders and Promoters, stated, “Even individuals present here are escaping due to fear of air strikes from the military council. Who would come to Buthidaung and Maungdaw when they are experiencing shortages of life and food? Otherwise, they are producing misinformation.” 

The Daily Star news also stated that the Rakhine people from Bangladesh, Nepal, and India are being resettled by AA, a claim that is entirely unfounded. 

"This is a big lie. Regardless of the possibility, everyone can think about it. This is an absolute falsehood claiming that Rakhines from Bangladesh, India, and Nepal are being relocated to Maungdaw, Buthidaung. Which Rakhine individuals are present in Nepal? Will Rakhines from India travel to Rakhine, a region so ravaged by war? I believe they are disseminating misinformation and exacerbating the issue,” he stated. 

The Daily Star cited Md Zubair, chair of the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights, as stating. 

"The Arakan Army is perpetrating crimes against the Rohingya residing in Rakhine State. They are transporting Rohingya to Arakan Army camps and coercing them to serve as forced laborers. They are likewise enlisting Rohingya to combat the military. Certain Rohingya have been murdered due to their ties to the military, and numerous Islamic scholars from the Rohingya community have also been killed,” the report stated. 

The claim that the Arakan Army is forcibly recruiting Muslims to fight against the Myanmar army is entirely untrue, and Arakan Army spokesperson U Khaing Thu Kha stated that there is no recruitment of Muslims occurring. 

."We have not forcibly recruited local Muslims to fight against the junta forces, nor have we made them work. This aims to sabotage the endeavors of our Arakan People's Revolutionary Government to foster unity among various ethnic groups and religions, as they are intentionally exploiting the Bangladeshi media to disturb regional peace and incite ethnic and religious tensions," the AA spokesperson stated. 

Numerous Bangladeshi media outlets are allegedly utilizing unfounded falsehoods to disseminate propaganda and damage the reputation of AA both in Bangladesh and internationally. 

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