Buthidaung and Maungdaw battle, tens of thousands of Rohingya are fleeing : Myanmar

Rohingyas told RFA that nearly 40,000 Rohingya have been forced to flee from May 6 to May 9 due to intense fighting between the Military Council Army and the Rakhine Army (AA) in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships in northern Rakhine State.

Buthidaung township close to the battle. Middle River and Bagong Na Village, Ko Ne San Lwin, a Rohingya rights activist, said that nearly 40,000 Rohingya are fleeing from more than 10 nearby villages, including the villages of Pupza and Hlaboza in Maungdaw Township.

“We have quite a lot of difficulties. You can't escape the war and live in refugee camps. And no one will give us humanitarian aid. There are women, There are children, There are adults. There are people who cannot walk. gourd mountain If Maungdaw adds up, at least forty thousand, About fifty thousand are fleeing"

Ko Ne San Lwin also explained that he told the Rohingyas from the villages of Buthidaung and Maungdaw Township by phone for three consecutive days.

"There is absolutely no life safety situation here. Above, they shoot with airplanes."

Currently, the situation in Rakhine State is complicated, and the Rohingya are being exploited by both sides between the Military Council Army and the Rakhine Army (AA). He said he was under pressure.

Referring to the General Administration Department's 2017 population census, according to the disaster management report released by the International Organization for Migration and IOM and USAID in October 2019, Maungdaw Township has 24 wards and 364 villages with a population of over 100,000. Most of them are Rohingya Muslims.

Rohingya activists say that the Rohingya population is nearly 200,000 in Buthidaung Township. He said there are nearly eighty thousand in Maungdaw, a total of nearly three hundred thousand.

A Rohingya from Maungdaw Township who is currently on the run told RFA that he fled because the Rakhine Army (AA) forced him to flee in advance.

"The reason we ran away was because the AA told us that there would be a fight here, so they let us go." The army will shoot with big weapons. That's why I can't stay here. He told me to go to the city. We are also worried that they will come and shoot us. AA does nothing. I asked them to avoid it. That's why I avoided it."

RFA has contacted Rakhine Army spokesperson U Khaing Thukha about these situations online, but has yet to receive a reply.

Rohingyas who have fled to Maungdaw township said that the fighting intensified in May, and that the military council army bombarded them with jet fighter jets, and the No. 5 Border Guard Police Division of the city opened fire every day with heavy weapons.

A Rohingya from Buthidaung Township told RFA that the current situation is life-threatening for them.

"There is no life safety situation at all. The above is shot with planes. Now he ran away with his family. Children and all. The whole village is running away from the battle. Six villages About seven villages fled. Of course I'm worried. All live with anxiety. Even eating and drinking has become completely difficult.”

Currently, Rohingyas from Maungdaw and Buthidaung Township villages cannot escape to the city, so they live and eat in nearby villages, he said.

Similarly, due to the fighting in Maungdaw and Buthidaung, the local people said that Rakhine ethnics are also fleeing. He said that nearly 50 houses in Maungdaw Township's Shwe Rin Aye and Vaithali Village were burned down by military council troops and Rohingyas trained by the military council between May 6 and 9.

RFA reached out to Rakhine State Attorney General U Hla Thein, who is the spokesman for the Rakhine State Military Council, for feedback on these situations, but he did not pick up the phone.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has announced that there have been more than 166,000 war refugees who have fled their homes and fled their homes during the fierce fighting between the Military Council Army and the Rakhine Army (AA) in Rakhine State for almost six months.