Amarta Chowdhury writes for DOT
On 2015 several rebels from Myanmar ambushed a Border Guard Bangladesh unit near the remote, jungle clad village of Boro Modok, Bandarban. Ongoing clash left several wounded from the both sides. While cross border activities of rebel groups originating from Myanmar is no new incident in Chittagong Hill Tracts region, groups from Rakhine state demands careful attention.
The state of Rakhine itself is unique since its ethnic composition mostly consists of Muslim Rohingya and Buddhist Rakhine people. They find their ancestors in the once flourishing kingdom of Mrauk U. None of them had been entirely satisfied with Burmese rule and it was evident by the formation of respective guerrilla movements. The cause of Rohingya people is well known around the world mostly because of the massive Thatmadaw (Myanmar military) operation against them in 1978,1992,2015, 2016 and 2017 which drove more than a million of them into neighboring Bangladesh.
Some Rakhine agitators assisted Thatmadaw in their push against Rohingya. A nationalist Rakhine rebel group called Arakan Army was one of them. It is the same rebel grop that was responsible for clashes against Bangladesh security officials back in 2015.
However, by December 2018 Arakan Army itself were facing Thatmadaw offensive. Clashes near Buthidaung township resulted in several casualties from both parties.
who are Arakan army.
Formed in 2009, Arakan army is one of 37 active militant groups in Myanmar. It is part of the Northern Alliance, an umbrella group of rebel armies including Ta’ang National Liberation Army, a communist group known as Myanmar national Democratic Alliance Army and Kachin Independence Army. These Northern alliance troops number somewhere from 10,000 to 12,000 including significant number of Arakan Army soldiers. Though Arakan Army’s head quarter is in the Laiza township of Shan state, several camps are present in Bangladesh-Myanmar border.
Rebels camps in Kachin hills came under Thatmadaw attack by the summer of 2018. New clashes in the Northern Rakhine can be viewed as a part of this fresh offensive.
Implications for Bangladesh
Except the Rohingya issue, Rakhine and adjacant Chin region has been of little interest to Bangladesh. Mowdok range mountains cover a large part of the 170-mile-long border. This difficult terrain along with the sparse number of people living there had made security a tough issue to maintain.
People living in Myanmar-Bangladesh border share strong cultural and social ties. They share intelligible languages and practice slash and burn agricultures. In the past, armed groups often used these jungle clad region for setting up camps and border incursions have been common. They have often been reported to be engaged in murder, extortion, drug trade and illegal poaching.
Renewed fighting in Myanmar means rebels from Arakan Army are likely to use Bangladeshi territory as a refuge. Bangladesh is still struggling to cope with the massive influx of Rohingya refugees 2017. Now these renewed clashes can also increase instability in the mountains. Several reports state that the Arakan Army has already issued some letters which urge the local youths to join them. Out of fear, several locals from Thanchi and Alikadam Upazilla are said to have escaped from the border.
It is yet to see how things unfold on the other side of the border. But the lawlessness and instability of the area certainly demands greater attention from the government. Several days ago, a joint statement from Myanmar’s civil and military leaders vowed to ‘crush’ the rebels. It seems the situation can become more intense in the coming days.
The writer is from Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs. ( BILIA)