11 February 2024
The AA terrorist group, which is known as a pirate, opium dealer, thief, and extremist group in Rakhine State, is carrying out forcibly recruiting children and pregnant women in Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, according to residents.
Locals said that on the evening of February 7, hundreds of AA militants entered Khon Taing village in northern Maungdaw Township and abducted 17 Myo ethnic people, including a pregnant woman and two children.
“This village is about 30 miles from Maungdaw. More than 200 families are living in this village. The people of the village are the Myo people, who are part of the Rakhine ethnic group. The people in the village are mainly engaged in farming. They have just arrested a pregnant woman; she is only in her 20s. She is called Mahti Daung. She is about 3 months pregnant. There are also three people over 50, including a 14-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy. A total of 17 people have been arrested,” the resident told MT News.
The AA said they were being recruited to serve in the military, but locals were unhappy because they were forcibly arrested. The villagers are currently trying to get all the others, including pregnant women and minors, who were arrested.
“They were pulling people onto the car. We pulled them back down, so there were only 17 of us. If we had not done anything, there could have been 40-50 of us. They didn’t pick and choose between men and women. They just picked up whatever we saw,” he said.
AA militants are also forcibly recruiting soldiers in areas such as Toungup, Thandwe, Ann, Ramree, Shama, and Kin Taung in Rakhine State. The AA militant group has been trying to recruit every Rakhine ethnic group living in Rakhine State, saying that they must join the AA militant group, but the recruitment efforts have failed, so they are forcibly recruiting new members to join the AA militant group, according to MT News’ source in Rakhine State.
“They previously said that every house should be an AA. But people have different ideas and thoughts. Some don’t want to join AA, and some don’t like AA. They are doing it under duress, so in the long run, this is not good for Rakhine youth, adults, men, women, children and adults. It could be dangerous,” the source said.
U Khaing Thu Kha, spokesman for the Arakan Army (AA), has admitted that the AA is recruiting new members for military service in Minbya, Kyauktaw, and Rathedaung in Rakhine State.
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