Mro IDPs in northern Maungdaw urgently need assistance following ARSA threats

By Admin 22 Nov 2025

DMG Newsroom

22 November 2025, Maungdaw

Ethnic Mro people in northern Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, who have fled their homes due to threats posed by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), are currently facing food and shelter shortages and are in urgent need of assistance.

About 1,500 residents from nine villages - including Donenyo, Ahtet Innchaung, Aut Innchaung, Ngatet and Byarywe - have been displaced by border clashes and ARSA threats.

They are currently sheltering in Kyeinchaung, Khwasone and Gyutchaung in Maungdaw Township, and in Ahet Bokalay and Aut Bokalay villages in Buthidaung Township.

Mro IDPs say they are struggling to earn a living due to insecurity, including ARSA threats and landmine risks.

"Some locals who fled were unable to harvest their paddy, so their livelihoods have worsened. Ethnic Mro people usually depend on cutting bamboo and fishing, but now they are facing many difficulties because they can't work regularly," said a local man from Maungdaw.

Most Mro residents rely on hunting, fishing, bamboo cutting and small-scale farming in the forests and mountains near their villages. Those who fled said they could not bring their stored rice or household goods, making their food situation even more precarious.

"People couldn't bring many belongings. They moved about 10 miles away, so they couldn't carry the rice and paddy left in the village. Even if they tried to return it, they were not allowed to go back for security reasons, so they are struggling to eat and drink," said an ethnic Mro man.

The ARSA threat and the danger of landmines pose ongoing risks for residents who depend on forest-based livelihoods in the Maungdaw region.

On November 14, U Daung Roi, a 42-year-old Mro man from Khontaing Village, died after stepping on a landmine while cutting bamboo on a nearby mountain.

The Arakan-Bangladesh border in northern Maungdaw is an area where ARSA, the Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) and the Arakan Rohingya Army (ARA) are active, with incidents of abductions, killings and landmine planting causing fear among locals.