Bangkok, Thailand – In early August, military officials assigned to Rakhine State by Myanmar’s generals summoned leaders from the mainly Muslim Rohingya community in Buthidaung township to a meeting on the banks of the Mayu River. The officials came with a warning: Rohingya villagers should cut off any ties with the Arakan Army (AA), an armed rebel group fighting for self-determination for ethnic minorities in the country’s northwest. “Currently we are participating all-together in the AA’s ad

Since February, when Myanmar’s military, known as the Tatmadaw, staged a coup against the government of Aung San Suu Kyi, Rakhine State in the west of the country has stood out. While other states witnessed massive peaceful demonstrations, followed by deeply troubling indiscriminate violence at the hands of the police and the military, Rakhine remained relatively tranquil. In November 2020, three months before the coup, the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army (AA), a powerful ethnic armed organization

Since February, when Myanmar’s military, known as the Tatmadaw, staged a coup against the government of Aung San Suu Kyi, Rakhine State in the west of the country has stood out. While other states witnessed massive peaceful demonstrations, followed by deeply troubling indiscriminate violence at the hands of the police and the military, Rakhine remained relatively tranquil. In November 2020, three months before the coup, the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army (AA), a powerful ethnic armed organization

Daniel Nyan had just picked up lunch and was driving home when a powerful wave of emotion forced him to pull over and start crying. “I have a car, I have a home and can buy myself food,” he recalled thinking. “So many of our people can’t. Daniel was born in Myanmar’s remote Chin State on the border with India. He left the country years ago and is now running the operations of an international child protection organisation in Mae Sot, a Thai town where refugees from Myanmar have lived for

Heavily pregnant women displaced by fighting risk their lives to give birth after being forced to flee their homes.

Displaced by civil war between the Myanmar military and the rebel Arakan Army, she has faced uncertainty about her daily survival since fleeing her village in March of last year. On top of this, she now fears what could happen if the coronavirus reaches the displaced person camp where she shares a small room with four of her family members.