Militant Arakan Army Summons Rohingya Elders and Businessmen, Urges Recruitment and Financial Support

Buthidaung, 21 October 2026 — The militant Arakan Army (AA) and the United League of Arakan (ULA) summoned Rohingya business owners and community elders from Maungdaw Township to a meeting in Buthidaung last week.

Local sources said about 50 Rohingya elders and businessmen from Maungdaw were taken to Buthidaung. Around 100 Rohingya business representatives from the Buthidaung area also attended.

At the meeting, militancy group AA and ULA representatives urged the Rohingya community to provide young men for military service. They also asked for financial support for their militancy group. They told the gathering that Rohingya people must publicly condemn Muslim armed groups if they want peace.

The militant AA representatives specifically called for public rejection of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army and the Rohingya Solidarity Organization. They said support for or the presence of such groups could create divisions between Muslim and Rakhine communities.

A battalion commander of the militant Arakan Army (AA) addressed the crowd. He said the group’s gains against the Myanmar military had cost the lives of thousands of Rakhine youths. He told the attendees that even if Rohingya residents did not join the AA, they should still cooperate because they would continue living alongside the Rakhine population. He then called for donations and public denunciations of Rohingya armed groups.

Local sources said the militant AA and ULA also appealed to the Muslim community through an anonymous official. They asked the community to explain its position to Rohingya and other Muslim communities abroad and to discourage support for armed groups.

Public Promises of Coexistence, Violence Behind the Scenes

In almost every public meeting with Rohingya communities, the militant Arakan Army and its political wing, the ULA, speak about cooperation and coexistence. These statements appear regularly in their media and public events. They present an image of peaceful relations with the remaining Rohingya in Arakan State.

The reality on the ground has been different. Rohingya Monitor and other media outlets have repeatedly documented serious violence against Rohingya communities by the militant Arakan Army since it expanded control across the state.

In recent weeks the militant Arakan Army ordered Rohingya villagers in Rathedaung, Kyauktaw and Mrauk-U townships to leave their homes by fixed deadlines. In Ah Nauk Pyin village in Rathedaung Township, the group abducted 51 Rohingya residents and killed one of them. The body was later returned to the village.

Earlier massacres include the killing of more than 600 Rohingya in Hoyyar Siri (Htan Shauk Khan) in Buthidaung Township. Near the Naf River in Maungdaw Township, nearly 400 Rohingya were killed in drone, artillery and gun attacks by the militant Arakan Army.

Local Rohingya media, including Rohingya Khobor, Bay of Bengal Post, Action Against Rohingya Atrocities and RVision, have also reported repeated attacks on Rohingya villages across the state.

While public statements continue to speak of good relations, the pattern of forced displacement, abductions and killings remains a serious concern for the Rohingya communities still living under militant Arakan Army control.