A joint operation by Police, Border Guard Police (BGP) and Immigration plundered at least 14 Rohingya homes in Duchirandan village and arbitrarily arrested not less than four innocent Rohingyas during a raid conducted in this early morning, the locals report.

The Duchiradan or Du-Chi-Yar-Tan (locally known as Kilaidaung) is a village in southern Maungdaw already crippled by the government-sponsored violence early this year. Tens of people were killed, many women were raped and hundreds of homes and burnt down and plundered, whereas hundreds were forced to leave home.

Today, the raid on the pretext of arresting people suspected to have links with external rebel groups lasted for three hours causing serious damages to the village again.

“A joint force of around 300 the police, the Border Guard Police and Immigration in total raided the village of Duchiradan at around 12:30AM today. It continued until 3:30AM.

“Actually, the raid to arrest the so-called suspected people is just the pretext. They plunder homes, torture people and rape women during the raids”

During the raid, they arrested 4 innocent people and plundered at 14 homes: their money, gold and other valuable properties. They tortured the innocent people found and bodily harassed the girls/women.

The people arbitrarily arrested are:

1) Ghafur Alam (son of) Bodi Alam, 48, 2) Mohammed Rizwan (son of) Noor Amin, 16, 3) Noor Jalal (son of) Mohammed Jalal, 17 and 4) Mohammed Zubair (son of) Dil Mohammed, 14. They have been detained since then.

The victims whose homes got plundered are:

1)Abdus Salam (son of) Ausi Rahman, 2) Noor Mahmud (son of) Dule Rahman, 3) Fayaz Dule Rahman, 4) Mahmud Sulaiman (son of) Dule Rahman, 5) Shomsul Alam (son of) Kullya Meah, 6) Noor Alam (son of) Khala Meah, 7) Shukkor Ahmed (son of) Saleh Ahmed, 8) Zahir Ahmed (son of) Basa Meah, 9) Lala Meah (son of) Noor Ahmed, 10) Kamal Hussein (son of) Imuddin, 11) Rahimullah (son of) Ausi Rahman, 12) Noor Amin (son of) Kullya Meah, 13) Noor Mahmud (son of) Khala Meah and 14) Hussein (son of) Ayub Ali” said an elderly Rohingya ” said an elderly Rohingya.

“Actually, the raid to arrest the so-called suspected people is just the pretext. They plunder homes, torture people and rape women during the raids” he added.

For last two weeks, the atrocities have escalated in southern Maungdaw. The recent incidents in Baggona are some examples. (Read: 6 Innocent Rohingyas Arrested by Border Guard Police to be Imprisoned)

Similarly, one more innocent Rohingya was arrested in northern Maungdaw on 27th November night on the pretext of connection with the so-called RSO (Rohingya Solidarity Organization).

“Khairul Amin (son of) Najim, 50, hails from Kwan Thi Pin village of Taung Pyo sub-township, northern Maungdaw. The border guard police (BGP) arrested him under the direction of the BGP commander in Taung Pyo on the pretext of his *RSO links.

He has disappeared since the arrest. His family can’t meet him and doesn’t know his whereabouts. The family is extremely worried.

Besides, they looked for two more people: Noor Hussein and Abdullah Hamid to arrest. Now, the authority has started arresting and instigating the people again possibly to create one more round of violence like in 2012.”

*RSO= Rohingya Solidarity Organization RSO is a former Rohingya armed group that has been disbanded long ago. Bangladesh government has officially announced that it is no longer existent today. Burma Experts on Minorities’ Armed Groups, Bertil Linter, has denied any such existence of RSO with arms.

Now, Rakhine extremists and Myanmar Government have started to spread propaganda that militants from RSO (Rohingya Solidarity Organization), are infiltrating into Myanmar so as to be able to scapegoat and kill even more innocent Rohingyas to achieve their respective political goals.

Burma Border Guard Police (BGP) attacked a taxi (tawlagyi) on November 26 while going to Maung Nama village from Maungdaw Town with passengers and some goods, said one of the passengers preferring not to be named.

“On November 26, at about 3: 30 pm, a group of BGP personnel with motorbikes went to Butkargonenah village adjacent to a flat mango orchid and halted a passenger taxi (Tawlagyi) on the road while coming from Maungdaw  and searched something after unloading all the passengers, but they did not find anything.”

A village elder who referring the passengers said, after a moment the BGP personnel asked the Rohingya passengers that--- “what is your nationality or race”. Hearing the question, the passengers did not give any answer and looking to the BGP personnel. However, after a moment, BGP personnel asked them that--- are you “Rohingya”? 

Regarding the question, some of passenger said yes, and some are quiet. Seeing the cue of passengers, the BGP personnel returned to their camp doing nothing against the Rohingya passengers, saying good-bye to the passengers with laughing, the village elder said.  

“The taxi (Tawlagyi) is always flying on the road said one of the passengers, but we did not know the intention of the BGP personnel.”