General Toan Marat Naing, commander in chief of the Arakan Army, has alleged that Rohingya rebels attacked a base on the Bangladesh-Myanmar border on the night of September 18 with the help of some Bangladeshi security officials.
In an interview with the Irrawaddy, he said that an Arakan Army base was attacked in Maungdaw Township, northern Rakhine State, on September 18. The Coxโs Bazar-based jihadist groups Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and the Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) were involved in the attack.
He alleged that officials of a Bangladeshi force had asked the armed Rohingyas to carry out the attack. Earlier, communication with these armed leaders was done through intermediaries. But now, credible information has come to light about direct coordination between them.
The Irrawaddy contacted the Bangladeshi embassy in Yangon to get a statement on his allegations. However, no response was received from the other side.
General Naing claims that the Rohingya are being ordered to attack the Taungpyo area. The area is close to the Bangladesh border.
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โSome officials in the Bangladesh security forces have been known to support militancy. They had already raised the RSO militants on the Bangladesh side, even before the Myanmar junta extensively trained and armed them. But this militant group became useless to them later, so they turned to the ARSA. After ARSA expanded and became stronger as a drug mafia, they could not control them anymore; they couldnโt swallow their own medicine.
โSo they now wanted to punish ARSA. They punished their leader and put the RSO back on stage. Then they pressured us to cooperate with this group to fight the common enemy. This pressure took various forms.
โLetโs say when the junta launched attacks on us, some Bangladesh military officers would encourage those militant groups to do the same. The Bangladeshi officials used to contact the militant groups through intermediaries. But now we have reliable information that they contacted the militants directly to attack Taung Pyo, or failing that, north of Taung Pyo, with everything they had.โ
The Arakan Army controls almost all areas, including Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships in Rakhine State bordering Bangladesh. In a statement on September 19, the Arakan Army said that due to the long and insecure border, ARSA and RSO fighters have infiltrated Maungdaw. They are committing injustices such as killing and kidnapping locals. They are also spreading false information on social media.
The Arakan Army chief claims that they enter through the border and kill whoever they find. Then they put Arakan Army uniforms or military equipment on the victims. But in fact, those killed are ordinary people, not members of the Arakan Army.
ARSA claimed last Monday that they had taken control of the base after more than a week of clashes with the Arakan Army. However, the Arakan Army dismissed this claim as baseless.
General Naing said this is the toughest time for the Rakhine people. โWe are currently engaged in intense battles. My comrades and I are standing with the Rakhine people. Our people are motivated. It is a historic step in our history.
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โFor Bangladesh, the priority is repatriating the Rohingya people to their home country. But we have a civil war in Myanmar, with famine and other consequences and these are the problems that we must prioritize. Now the refugee camps are no longer getting donations from the world, the host country is in a rush to deport the refugees. The world is helping those in need based on a humanitarian aid mindset.โ
Regarding his steps to reopen a historic mosque in Maungdaw, General Naing said citizens have the right to have a mosque. โWe also urged the Islamic Committee in Rakhine State and Muslim religious leaders to be cautious and not to allow themselves to be taken advantage of by extremists.โ
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