Five Rohingyas cross into Bangladesh to escape torture by Arakan Army: RRRC official

At least five Rohingya refugees crossed into Bangladesh today (24 July) to escape escalating violence and alleged torture by Myanmar's ethnic armed group, the Arakan Army (AA), officials and community sources confirmed.

The Rohingyas, who were fleeing from Myanmar's conflict-ridden Rakhine State, are now in the custody of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB). 

Sources within the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner's (RRRC) office said they are being held near the border amid ongoing efforts to verify their claims of persecution.

"Speaking to the fleeing Rohingyas, we learnt that they are escaping to Bangladesh after facing persecution by the Arakan Army," said RRRC official Mohammed Mizanur Rahman. 

"The five Rohingyas are currently in BGB custody."

Despite previous promises to protect Rohingya civilians, the Arakan Army is accused of committing serious human rights abuses against them in areas under its control. One such case involves Md Jobaier, a resident of Camp-16 in Cox's Bazar, whose cousin recently fled Maungdaw to avoid extortion and threats.

"My cousin had a small scrap business in Maungdaw. For months, the AA extorted money from him. His life was under threat, so he fled to Bangladesh. But BGB caught him at the border and is now trying to push him back," Jobaier told The Business Standard.

He added, "The torture we faced in 2017 was horrifying, but what is happening now in Buthidaung and Maungdaw is even worse. A relative was recently shot dead by the AA, and a three-year-old child was shot in the leg."

The fresh influx follows renewed fighting between the Arakan Army and Myanmar's military, the Tatmadaw, in Rakhine State. Since the conflict reignited, an estimated 125,000 Rohingyas have fled into Bangladesh, reviving memories of the 2017 genocide that forced over one million Rohingyas to seek refuge across the border.

Rohingya sources alleged that back in Rakhine, civilians are subjected to killings, enforced disappearances, forced recruitment as human shields, and used as labourers by the AA in areas where the military junta and rebels continue to clash.

Yesterday (23 July), Fortify Rights, a Southeast Asia-based human rights organisation, published a report accusing the Arakan Army of committing war crimes, including abductions, torture, killings, and beheadings of Rohingya civilians. 

"The Arakan Army is responsible for widespread abductions, brutal torture, and the murder of Rohingya, some of whom were found beheaded, in blatant violation of the laws of war," said Ejaz Min Khant, a Human Rights Specialist at Fortify Rights.

The organisation urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate and prosecute AA members involved in these atrocities.

Fortify Rights' investigation documented more than 200 cases of blunt-force trauma consistent with torture between January and June 2024 alone. The abuses reportedly occurred in temporary detention centers and Rohingya villages under Arakan Army control.

Shot in the leg: A two-year-old boy's journey to safety 

Two-year-old Abdur Rahman was screaming in pain when his mother found him his tiny leg torn apart by shellfire during an attack by the Arakan Army (AA) at Buthidaungin Myanmar's Rakhine State in 2024, said his mother. 

His father was already dead. His grandmother, too.

His mother, Rahima Khatun, stood in the ruins of their once-peaceful village, Koindong, as war swallowed everything. That day in 2024 changed their lives forever.

"My son's blood soaked my clothes," said Rahima, recalling the moment her world collapsed. "I didn't know if he would live."

With nowhere to go, Rahima said she and her children found brief shelter in a nearby village. Local families rushed Abdur Rahman to a hospital. Doctors saved his life but not his leg. It had to be amputated.

Homeless and heartbroken, Rahima reached out to her younger brother in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar refugee camps. Desperate to save her family, he paid a broker Tk80,000 to smuggle them across the border.

In February 2025, Rahima carried her injured son on her back for seven days, navigating dense forests, muddy paths, and military checkpoints. On 17 February, they finally reached Teknaf.

Hope flickered back to life when Handicap International fitted Abdur Rahman with a prosthetic leg. Now, he walks again — step by step, his small hand held tightly in his mother's.

In a crowded refugee shelter in Camp 16, Rahima cooks, comforts, and heals. 

"I lost my husband, my home, my land," she said, adding, "But my son lives. And as long as he walks, I will not give up."