Latest news with #ARSA
Gulf Today
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Today
Bangladesh arrests notorious Rohingya militant leader
A Rohingya militant leader who directed attacks against Myanmar security forces which precipitated a humanitarian catastrophe was arrested on Tuesday by police in Bangladesh. Ata Ullah, 48, first surfaced nearly a decade ago as the charismatic leader of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), an outfit formed to wage an insurgency against the stateless Muslim minority's persecution in Myanmar. Their attacks on police posts in 2017 sparked brutal reprisals that eventually sent around 750,000 Rohingya fleeing for their lives into squalid relief camps in neighbouring Bangladesh. The leader was arrested alongside five associates by the elite Rapid Action Battalion force on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka, while another four of his associates were arrested in the central district of Mymensingh, police said. Ata Ullah was believed to have personally ordered the 2017 attacks and first came to public attention soon after in videos posted online, where he was seen flanked by masked gunmen and vowing to liberate the Rohingya from 'dehumanised oppression'. ARSA has been accused of killings, abductions, and torture in the refugee camps and the group's leader has been accused of ordering the murder of Rohingya civic leaders who dared to speak out against the group. He has also been accused of involvement in the murder of a Bangladeshi military intelligence officer. Tuesday's arrest came hours after a regional rights group said at least 65 Rohingya had been killed last year in clashes between rival militant groups competing for influence in Bangladeshi refugee camps. Ata Ullah's outfit, its chief rival the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation and other militant groups have for years waged a deadly battle for control of the camps. Fortify Rights documented 65 deaths last year along with dozens of assaults, abductions and acts of extortion blamed on 'militant and criminal groups' in the camps. The figure is down from 90 killings recorded in 2023 by the rights group. 'Rohingya armed groups are wreaking havoc in Bangladesh and Myanmar with near complete impunity,' the watchdog's director John Quinley told reporters in Dhaka at the launch of a new report into the violence. 'It's not only infighting that kills members of these militant outfits. Civilians are also victims.' The report called on Bangladesh's government to investigate the violence and hold perpetrators responsible, saying that some cases amounted to potential war crimes that warranted possible prosecution by international courts. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh last week where he promised to do 'everything' possible to avoid looming cuts to humanitarian aid. Funding shortfalls announced by the UN food agency this month could lead to a cut in monthly food vouchers from $12.50 to $6.00 per person at the camps from April. Successive aid cuts have already caused immense hardship in the overcrowded settlements among Rohingya, who are reliant on aid and suffer from rampant malnutrition. Bangladesh has struggled for years to support its immense refugee population, and Dhaka has said it is exploring ways to secure additional aid for Rohingya refugees. On the other hand, India is resisting pleas by Bangladesh to resume issuing normal volumes of medical visas, citing staffing shortages amid worsening ties, six sources said, giving China rare space to expand similar offerings and build people-to-people ties. The bulk of India's visas for Bangladeshis in 2023 went to those seeking its affordable private healthcare and Bengali-speaking hospital staff, helping to cement ties between the neighbours and limit China's regional influence. 'When there is a vacuum, others will come and fill the space,' one of four Bangladesh sources, most of them diplomats, told Reuters. 'Some people are going to Thailand and China.' Since August, India has handed out fewer than 1,000 medical visas each working day, down from a figure of 5,000 to 7,000, said the sources, who all sought anonymity, citing their terms of employment. Agencies
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rohingya in Bangladesh pray for release of arrested insurgent leader
By Ruma Paul and Sudipto Ganguly DHAKA (Reuters) - Dozens of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh gathered to pray for the early release of a Rohingya insurgent leader arrested this week on charges of murder, illegal entry and militant activities. Ataullah Abu Ammar Jununi, leader of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), and some others were arrested on Tuesday during a raid near the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka. An International Crisis Group report said Ataullah led ARSA's violent campaign in 2016 against Myanmar's security forces to reclaim the rights of Rohingya Muslims, who say they face persecution at the hands of Myanmar's Buddhist majority. ARSA attacks on border guard posts led to a military crackdown in Myanmar that prompted more than 750,000 Rohingya to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh in 2017. Videos shared by Rohingya Muslims living in refugee camps in southern Bangladesh showed men and women gathered at separate meetings to pray for Ataullah. A government official in Cox's Bazar, the Bangladeshi coastal city that hosts the world's largest refugee settlement, confirmed that the prayer meetings were held on Wednesday. "ARSA is the only group that has managed to put pressure on the Myanmar government," said Mohammed Taher, a Rohingya refugee. "Our voices and our plight have reached the world because of them. If they are working honestly for our cause, they should be allowed to continue." However, Taher said some people in the camps were happy with Ataullah's arrest because they believed it would improve law and order that has been eroded by factional violence there. Bangladeshi police said ARSA activities extend beyond insurgent operations, with some members allegedly involved in killings, kidnappings and smuggling within refugee camps in Bangladesh, where over a million Rohingya are sheltering. ARSA's presence in the camps has also led to violent infighting, with dozens of deaths resulting from clashes between ARSA militants and rival factions. Bangladesh says it is overburdened with the Rohingya and wants them repatriated. Myanmar's rulers view the Rohingya as foreign interlopers and have denied them citizenship, leaving little prospect of their repatriation from its South Asian neighbour. "To us, these people are notorious hoodlums. We (have) never believed they have any political foresight or political philosophy," said Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, Bangladesh's refugee relief and repatriation commissioner based in Cox's Bazar. "We are confident that there will be improvement in law and order inside and outside the camps if we are able to combat them effectively. We are continuously working towards that."
Reuters
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Rohingya in Bangladesh pray for release of arrested insurgent leader
DHAKA, March 20 (Reuters) - Dozens of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh gathered to pray for the early release of a Rohingya insurgent leader arrested this week on charges of murder, illegal entry and militant activities. Ataullah Abu Ammar Jununi, leader of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), and some others were arrested on Tuesday during a raid near the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. An International Crisis Group report said Ataullah led ARSA's violent campaign in 2016 against Myanmar's security forces to reclaim the rights of Rohingya Muslims, who say they face persecution at the hands of Myanmar's Buddhist majority. ARSA attacks on border guard posts led to a military crackdown in Myanmar that prompted more than 750,000 Rohingya to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh in 2017. Videos shared by Rohingya Muslims living in refugee camps in southern Bangladesh showed men and women gathered at separate meetings to pray for Ataullah. A government official in Cox's Bazar, the Bangladeshi coastal city that hosts the world's largest refugee settlement, confirmed that the prayer meetings were held on Wednesday. "ARSA is the only group that has managed to put pressure on the Myanmar government," said Mohammed Taher, a Rohingya refugee. "Our voices and our plight have reached the world because of them. If they are working honestly for our cause, they should be allowed to continue." However, Taher said some people in the camps were happy with Ataullah's arrest because they believed it would improve law and order that has been eroded by factional violence there. Bangladeshi police said ARSA activities extend beyond insurgent operations, with some members allegedly involved in killings, kidnappings and smuggling within refugee camps in Bangladesh, where over a million Rohingya are sheltering. ARSA's presence in the camps has also led to violent infighting, with dozens of deaths resulting from clashes between ARSA militants and rival factions. Bangladesh says it is overburdened with the Rohingya and wants them repatriated. Myanmar's rulers view the Rohingya as foreign interlopers and have denied them citizenship, leaving little prospect of their repatriation from its South Asian neighbour. "To us, these people are notorious hoodlums. We (have) never believed they have any political foresight or political philosophy," said Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, Bangladesh's refugee relief and repatriation commissioner based in Cox's Bazar. "We are confident that there will be improvement in law and order inside and outside the camps if we are able to combat them effectively. We are continuously working towards that."
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bangladesh arrests leader of Rohingya insurgent group on criminal charges
DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh authorities have arrested the leader of a Rohingya Muslim insurgent group, Ataullah Abu Ammar Jununi, on charges of murder, illegal entry, sabotage and militant activities, police said on Wednesday. Ataullah, the leader of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), and 10 others were arrested on Tuesday during a raid in Narayanganj district, near Bangladesh's capital Dhaka. According to an International Crisis Group report, Ataullah lead ARSA's violent campaign in 2016 against Myanmar's security forces to reclaim rights of the Rohingya, who say they face persecution at the hands of Myanmar's Buddhist majority. He has been identified by analysts as ARSA's leader and appeared in a series of videos claiming responsibility for the attacks on Myanmar security forces. ARSA's attacks on the border guard posts brought a military crackdown in Myanmar with more than 750,000 Rohingya forced to flee to neighboring Bangladesh in 2017. Bangladesh police said the group's activities extend beyond insurgent operations, with ARSA members allegedly involved in criminal activities such as killings, kidnappings, and smuggling within the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh - home to more than a million Rohingya Muslims, the world's largest refugee settlement. The group's presence in the refugee camps has also led to violent infighting, with dozens of deaths resulting from clashes between ARSA members and rival factions. ARSA is also suspected to be behind the 2021 murder of Mohib Ullah, a prominent Rohingya leader who advocated for the return of refugees to Myanmar. His death was a blow to efforts to peacefully address the Rohingya crisis.
New York Times
19-03-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Armed Rohingya Group's Leader Is Arrested in Bangladesh
The leader of an armed group representing a persecuted Muslim minority from Myanmar was arrested in a raid in neighboring Bangladesh this week and charged under an antiterrorism law. Ataullah, an ethnic Rohingya and the commander of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, or ARSA, was arrested on Monday, the Bangladeshi police said in a statement. He was captured in Narayanganj District, on the outskirts of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, according to a local police officer. Nine other suspected members of ARSA were also nabbed in raids. The 10 suspected insurgents were charged under an antiterrorism law at a court in Narayanganj and are now in police custody, Shahinur Alam, the officer in charge at the Siddhirganj Police Station in Narayanganj, said on Wednesday. Coordinated attacks by ARSA insurgents on security outposts in 2016 and 2017 were used as a pretext for the Myanmar military to launch a scorched-earth campaign of arson, mass rape and killing against the Rohingya minority. Dozens of Rohingya villages were wiped from the map in what the Myanmar military called 'security operations.' The United States has labeled the expulsion of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar to Bangladesh, which propelled the fastest outflow of refugees in recent history, a genocide. Today, more than a million Rohingya are confined to a series of tent settlements in neighboring Bangladesh, one of which is the largest refugee camp in the world. Gun battles in the camps between rival militant groups, including ARSA, have added yet another layer of trauma to Rohingya life and radicalized a generation of desperate youth. ARSA and other insurgent groups have assassinated camp leaders, including those working toward a return of Rohingya to Myanmar. Militants have forcibly recruited boys and young men into their ranks. They have also directed smuggling rings that deposit young Rohingya in the sex and servant trades, according to camp elders and human rights groups. Mr. Ataullah, the ARSA commander, was born to an exiled Rohingya family in Pakistan and raised in Saudi Arabia, where he received religious instruction. The group was largely unknown until thousands of its fighters besieged the Myanmar security outposts, killing about 20 police and military personnel in the 2017 attacks, according to the Myanmar government. Dressed in black, ARSA insurgents were trained to rally themselves with the battle cry 'Speak loudly, Allah is the greatest,' according to the group's members. Mr. Ataullah, who was identified by the Bangladeshi police as Ataullah abu Ammar Jununi, secretly recruited among Rohingya in Myanmar, both young and old, arguing that only an armed rebellion could counter the decades of persecution faced by the Muslim minority in a Buddhist-majority country. But in recent years, ARSA has become better known for gangland-style turf battles in the refugee camps in Bangladesh, fighting with other armed groups, including the Rohingya Solidarity Organization. Insurgent leaders, human rights watchdogs say, have indulged in drug and human trafficking. 'Ataullah's role in orchestrating egregious violations against civilians is undeniable,' said John Quinley, director of Fortify Rights, a human rights group that on Tuesday released a 78-page report on Rohingya militant activity in Bangladesh. 'He directly oversaw horrific acts of violence, including killings, abductions and the torture of Rohingya civilians in both Myanmar and Bangladesh.' The actions of Mr. Ataullah and other insurgents, Mr. Quinley added, may constitute war crimes. There is little hope that the Rohingya can return to Myanmar anytime soon. Even before the Myanmar military staged a coup four years ago, plunging the Southeast Asian country into civil war, the Rohingya bore the brunt of the military's ethnic chauvinism. Waves of Rohingya fled home, finding refuge and menial jobs in Asia and the Middle East. There are now far more Rohingya living outside of Myanmar than in their homeland. Cuts in American aid in recent weeks have added more pain to Rohingya life in the Bangladesh camps, as clinics and other essential services have ceased. Militant groups that claim to be fighting on behalf of the Rohingya have formed over the decades in Rakhine State, their home in western Myanmar. Some Rohingya armed organizations have called for autonomy, others merely a halt to the apartheidlike conditions inflicted on the minority by the Myanmar military, which is dominated by the Buddhist Bamar ethnic group. The pogroms against the Rohingya in 2016 and 2017 were abetted by yet another ethnic minority, the Buddhist Rakhine, who populate the same strip of western Myanmar as the Rohingya. Today, an ethnic Rakhine insurgency called the Arakan Army has wrested control of much of Rakhine State from the Myanmar military, including the northern part of the state where the Rohingya are clustered. The changed battlefield has led to an unusual alliance. Some Rohingya militant groups have kidnapped boys and young men from the refugee camps in Bangladesh and dispatched them to Myanmar to fight on the side of the Myanmar military. Many Rohingya believe the Arakan Army commits far worse atrocities against them than does the Myanmar military. The Myanmar military's ethnic cleansing campaigns have targeted multiple minority groups of multiple faiths. But the violence directed toward the Rohingya has been the most extreme. Both military and civilian governments in Myanmar have dismissed the Rohingya as foreign interlopers from Bangladesh and refuse to even use the name 'Rohingya,' lest it legitimize the ethnic minority's existence. Most Rohingya have been essentially stripped of their citizenship, despite their leaders having once served in Parliament and in other august positions.
