The rebel Arakan Army announced its full control [6] of Burma's border with Bangladesh after the seizure of the last junta base in Maungdaw township on Dec. 11. The rebel army said it had taken captive a general and dozens of other soldiers, including around 80 Rohingya fighters [7]—raising fears of further reprisals against the Muslim minority. The Arakan Army seeks autonomy for the ethnic Rakhine people and is part of an alliance of armed groups that has also seized key towns [8] in eastern Burma. (TNH [11])
The Rohingya, having long faced massive ethnically targetted attacks [12] by the military, are now facing such attacks [9] by the ethno-nationalist Arakan Army. In addition to Rohingya youth being press-ganged into the military to fight the rebels, some Rohingya militias are now collaborating with the junta against the Arakan Army. (Rohingya Refugee News [13], Dhaka Tribune [14], Tea Circle [15])
