Myanmar’s military has been conscripting at least 100 Rohingyas to fight for the embattled junta, nearly seven years after killing thousands of Muslim Rohingyas in what the UN called “textbook ethnic cleansing.” It is now understood these men have been ordered to report for military training, despite being denied citizenship and subjected to discriminatory restrictions.
In 2012, tens of thousands of Rohingyas were forced out of mixed communities in Rakhine State and forced to live in squalid camps. In 2017, 700,000 fled to Bangladesh after the army launched a brutal clearance operation against them, killing and raping thousands and burning their villages. Some 600,000 Rohingyas still remain there.
Myanmar is now facing a genocide trial at the International Court of Justice in the Hague over its treatment of the Rohingyas. The same army is now forcibly recruiting them, as the military has suffered significant losses to opposition forces in other parts of the country. The junta has also lost large numbers of soldiers, who have been killed, wounded, surrendered or defected to the opposition. Few want to risk their lives propping up an unpopular regime, and the Rohingyas fear that they are being targeted again to be cannon fodder in a war the junta seems to be losing.
Myanmar’s military denies using Rohingyas to fight its battles with the Arakan Army, stating that there is no plan to send them to the front line. Instead, they have asked them to help with their own defense. The denial of citizenship is at the heart of the Rohingyas’ long struggle for acceptance in Myanmar and one reason they suffer systematic discrimination, described by human rights groups as similar to apartheid.
When soldiers returned to take the conscripted men away, they retracted the offer of citizenship. The army is now demanding new lists of potential recruits, and no-one else is willing to risk being conscripted. The Rohingyas are now forced to fight for an army that does not recognize their right to live in Myanmar, alienating the ethnic insurgents who may soon control most of Rakhine.
The Arakan Army is fighting for an autonomous state, part of a wider campaign with other ethnic armies and opposition groups to overthrow the military junta and create a new, federal system in Myanmar. The Rohingyas are now caught between the two sides, with some Rohingyas receiving certificates from the army stating they have fought in battle on their side. They are still recovering from injuries and fearing they will be called again.
In summary, the Myanmar military is using Rohingyas to fight against the Arakan Army, threatening communal conflict with the ethnic Rakhine Buddhist population, and alienating the Rohingyas from Myanmar.
