ARSA abducts locals and spreads propaganda portraying them as AA members

By Admin 21 Sep 2025

DMG Newsroom

21 September 2025, Maungdaw

The Arakan Army (AA) announced on September 19 that the Muslim armed group ARSA has been abducting local civilians in Maungdaw Township, along the Arakan-Bangladesh border, and circulating photos and video files on social media portraying those detainees as captured AA members.

According to the AA, ARSA (Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army) has been abducting and killing locals in remote areas of Maungdaw, then dressing them in Arakan Army uniforms to fabricate propaganda suggesting that AA members had been captured during battles.

"They disguise people in AA uniforms to stage fake scenarios as if they were AA members caught in combat, then post these manipulated photos and videos on social media to mislead the public and gain more support and backing from extremist Islamic groups abroad," the AA statement said.

ARSA released a video on September 18 claiming to have captured someone wearing an AA uniform.

Residents of Maungdaw say ARSA frequently produces such videos, alleging the arrest of AA fighters by detaining and presenting local villagers from northern Maungdaw.

"Villagers don't dare go into the forests or hills in groups of two or three anymore. If they go, they travel in groups of at least ten people. ARSA often abducts or kills locals. On the ground, they oppress civilians. They want to instill deeper fear and make it seem as if they have full control," a Maungdaw woman told DMG.

Muslim armed groups in northern Maungdaw have been repeatedly attacking, abducting, and killing local people, leaving residents in constant fear and insecurity.

In its statement, the AA/ULA said it will step up security measures to protect Arakan State from the lawless and violent activities of ARSA, RSO, and other Muslim armed groups, pledging to eliminate their threats.

An Arakan politician told DMG: "ARSA's killings of civilians did not start just now; it has been happening since before 2017. The reason they can continue killing and threatening people like this is because they have secured a base of operations in Bangladesh."

He added that the activities of Muslim armed groups pose a direct threat to both the rule of law and border security of sovereign nations.

U Khaing Thukha, a spokesperson for the AA, said that Bangladesh's Border Guard Force (BGF) has been providing training and weapons to extremist groups from refugee camps, stationing them near BGB bases, and enabling them to commit crimes such as murder, kidnappings for ransom, armed robberies, human trafficking, and drug smuggling for profit.