Updates from Duchiradan, Maungdaw: More Reports of Death, Looting, and Arrests of Rohingyas

RB News

January 18, 2014

Maungdaw, Arakan – On Jaunary 17th at 4AM, security forces raided the western hamlet of Gawduthara village tract and arrested the following four people. 

(1) Molvi Noor Huda, son of Molvi Lal Mamed (35-years-old) 

(2) Molvi Harnnawm , son of Sultan (38-years-old) 

(3) Fawzawl Ahmed (50-years-old) 

(4) Jamal, son of Mohammed Sufid (38-years-old) 

The locals said they received no information on the whereabouts of those arrestees since the time of arrest. Prior to these arrests the security forces tried to arrest Ex-village administrator Arnis but after they didn’t find him at his house they raided the house of Arnis’ father-in-law in Myoma West Ward (No. 1 Ward). They arrested Arnis’s father-in-law, Shabbir and his sister-in-law. 

Reportedly Arnis has a personal problem with the Gawduthara village administrator Tha Hla. Tha Hla has reported false information to district police department that Arnis was paid 500,000 Kyats to hide the corpse of police sergeant Aung Kyaw Thein. For this reason Shabbir and his daughter were arrested but later they were released in the evening. 

On January 17th, at 12 pm two Rohingya women who were left in Duchiradan were on their way to another village as they didn’t have any food to survive in Duchiradan. They were shot dead by security personnel on their way. 

On January 16th two corpses, one of a15 years old boy and the other a 12 year old boy, were found by villagers. The bodies were identified as sons of Ali Hussein, Rahimullah (15-years-old) and Zahir Ahmed (12-years-old). According to local sources, about 50 were killed between January 14th to 17th, most of them were women and children. About 60 girls younger than 10-years-old and about 120 adults and youths are still missing. 

The eastern hamlet of Duchiradan village tract has 330 houses and the Rakhines from Natala villages came and took all doors, fences, cattle, chickens, rice and other valuable things. On January 15th Ya Ka Pha chief and forces brought all Rohingya villages administrators to Gawduthara bridge outpost and punished administrators by standing them under the sun from 6 am to 12 pm. On that day at 8 am the Rakhines killed the Rohingyas who were hiding inside the houses in Duchiradan. The Rakhines used home-made guns, sticks and swords. They took all corpses at night with a truck but no one has information as to where the corpses were buried. 

Moreover, the students from Southern Maungdaw studying in downtown Maungdaw were punished by the police from Nyaung Chaung – Kayin Dan bridge outpost. The students were forced to fill up the water in the empty water tanks and were forced to leave by foot instead of going by bicycle. They had to carry their bikes on the shoulder till they disappeared from the eyes of police. 

On January 17th at 10 pm over 500 Rakhines from Kin Chaung entered into western hamlet of Gawduthara village tract with a body of someone who had died from natural causes. The Rakhines claimed a story that the deceased was killed by Rohingyas. The Rakhines left the corpse in western hamlet of Gawduthara village tract and tried to attack Rohingyas. They were holding sticks and swords. And at the same time, about 500 military surrounded Nurullah village. 

The list of some arrestees arrested by authorities on January 14th is as follows: 

(1) Shamshul S/o Bawdi Alam (40-years-old) 

(2) Rawhi Ali S/o Kalu (45-years-old) 

(3) Meah Hussein (29-years-old) 

(4) Dawbi Ullah S/o Nezam Uddin (85-years-old) 

(5) Noor Mustafa S/o Abdul Mawzaid (46-years-old) 

(6) Kamal Uddin S/o Jamal Uddin (70-years-old) 

(7) Bakulu S/o Mawtaw Ullah (27-years-old)

Additional reporting by Sindi Khan.