Three locals, including a woman, abducted by ARSA in Maungdaw

By Admin 24 Oct 2025

DMG Newsroom

24 October 2025, Maungdaw

In southern Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, three residents - including a woman - from Kin Chaung Village were abducted by members of the Muslim armed group Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), according to local sources.

Shortly after 8 a.m. today (Oct. 24), ARSA fighters reportedly approached villagers herding cattle near the foothills of the Mayu Mountains close to Kin Chaung and attempted to threaten and detain them. While three villagers managed to flee, three others were taken away, residents said.

"This morning we were herding cattle outside the village near the hills. ARSA gunmen came and seized a young woman and two others. The three who escaped were just lucky," a Maungdaw resident said.

Those abducted were named as Ma Mi Sanda (16), U Maung Ba Htun (41) and Maung Htun Aye (20). Those who escaped were Ko Kyaw Khine, U Pan Chay, and U Ba Htun, locals told DMG.

Villagers and Arakan Army (AA) personnel are currently conducting searches for the missing, according to residents.

"Right now village leaders and security teams are combing areas around the Mayu range. Everyone is especially worried about the young woman. People from nearby villages no longer dare to go into the forest - no more herding cattle, gathering firewood, or fishing. We think some of the perpetrators could be ARSA members who slipped south after AA offensives near Kyauk Pandu," a man from Maungdaw said.

Residents say that whereas ARSA activity had previously been concentrated along the Bangladesh border and in northern Maungdaw, the group has now pushed into southern Maungdaw, carrying out a series of abuses against civilians.

On October 22, ARSA gunmen fired on a passenger vehicle traveling from Zedee Pyin (Rathedaung Township) to Kyauk Pandu (Maungdaw Township) along the Mayu mountain road, killing two women and injuring two men.

In Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships, at least 40 civilians have been killed and around 20 injured over the past six months in ARSA attacks, with reports of kidnappings as well, prompting growing fear among locals.

Given the threat posed by ARSA and the RSO, authorities have advised border communities not to travel alone, to avoid remote forested areas, and - for essential needs such as medical care - to inform AA administrative and security units before setting out.