The Arakan Army (AA) has alleged that Bangladeshi officials were involved in supporting Rohingya rebel groups behind a recent attack on one of its bases in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.

According to a Thailand-based Myanmar news outlet, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and the Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) jointly launched an assault on an AA outpost in Maungdaw Township on the night of September 18.

AA chief Tun Myat Naing claimed that his forces were facing mounting challenges in maintaining order in areas they had seized from Myanmar’s military. He accused certain members of Bangladesh’s armed forces of backing Rohingya insurgents across the border and even instructing them to carry out attacks.

In the past, Bangladeshi officials used mediators to communicate with these rebel groups. Now, the contacts are direct. We also have reliable intelligence reports confirming this, Tun Myat Naing told the news agency.

He further alleged that Bangladeshi officials had directed Rohingya fighters to attack AA positions in Taungpyo and northern border areas, regardless of the weapons at their disposal.

Bangladesh’s Embassy in Myanmar was contacted for comments regarding the allegations but has yet to respond. No official remarks were available from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) or Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) either.

The AA had issued a similar statement on September 19, accusing ARSA and RSO fighters of crossing the border into Maungdaw to engage in abductions, killings, ransom collection, and spreading disinformation.

The AA leader also alleged that Rohingya militants were murdering civilians near the border, dressing the bodies in military fatigues, and then falsely claiming they were AA fighters killed in clashes.

The AA currently controls nearly the entire Rakhine region, including Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships bordering Bangladesh. Reports suggest the group now holds sway over 14 of Rakhine’s 17 administrative zones.

ARSA, designated a terrorist organization by both Myanmar and Malaysia, was accused of massacring Hindus in 2017 and fomenting violence in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh. RSO, founded in 1982, has recently aligned itself with Myanmar’s junta to fight against the AA.

The RSO has also been accused of forcibly recruiting child soldiers from Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh.

Amid the spiraling violence, the AA has urged civilians in Rakhine to avoid traveling through remote or conflict-prone areas.

Source: The Irrawaddy