Photo: Collected
After the Bangladesh and Indian embassies evacuated to Yangon (formerly Rangoon), the United Nations agencies, international and local NGOs are all leaving Maungdaw city in Rakhine State amid growing insecurity.
The UN agencies, INGOs, and local NGOs began evacuation on February 10 as the conflict escalated. The evacuation from Maungdaw has plans to move to Sittwe, the Rakhine State capital.
The organisations that have departed include the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Department for Safety and Security (UNDSS), World Food Programme (WFP), Action Contre La Faim (ACF), Bridge Asia Japan (BAJ), International Organization for Migration (IOM), Malteser, Danish Refugee Council (DRC), Community and Family Services International (CFSI), Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), Center for Social Integrity (CSI), and World Vision.
The organisations which have decided to stay back are Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS) as they are actively involved in the region.
Sources working with the UN and INGOs in Cox’s Bazar said the departure route initially leads from Maungdaw to Buthidaung. The departure process involved seeking travel permission from the Maungdaw General Administration Office and traversing the Maungdaw-Buthidaung road, despite the road closure.
International staff working in Rakhine are returning to their respective countries, while a few locals who worked with NGOs/INGOs in Maungdaw have stayed back.
The majority of the evacuated staff and personnel’s final destination is Sittwe, with plans to be relocated elsewhere depending on the situation, the sources said.
INGOs confirmed that all foreign and staff, including local employees from Maungdaw District, have moved to safer places.
Sources within INGOs revealed that both the UN and other humanitarian aid groups are preparing to withdraw from Rakhine State due to the increasing military tensions and widening conflicts.
To avoid the Junta’s airstrikes targeting residential areas, including towns and villages, INGO offices in Maungdaw Township painted their organization logos, including that of the UN, on rooftops on February 8.
Meanwhile, the fear psychosis among villagers, civil administration, and border security has not yet faded out, despite the explosions gradually waning at the border of Bangladesh and Myanmar.
The residents living on the zero-line of the border remain in fear of insecurity as the sounds of mortar shelling and firearms have been heard across Naikhongchari and Ukhiya, several residents, and Rohingya refugees said.
NGO officials in Ukhiya said as the conflict is raging in Rakhine State, the situation remains tense. Any moment the Myanmar troops retaliate and deploy additional troops to regain sovereignty from the rebels will be a threat to the villagers along the border.
The Daily Messenger correspondent in Ukhiya, Shahidul Islam, quoting various sources, said news pouring in from Rakhine State said nearly 10,000 government troops have been reportedly mobilised at Kumarkhali, Tumru, Dekebunia, Kowangchimon, and Moulvir.
The troops with heavy arsenal and military hardware are contemplating regaining territories lost to the rebels.
Earlier, in the event of a fierce conflict between the rebel Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar government forces Tatmadaw and Border Guards Police (BGP) in Rakhine State, the border with Bangladesh experienced the brunt of the conflict.
Former Naikhongchari Union Parishad Chairman Taslim Iqbal Chowdhury said the residents are living in fear. The fresh influx of Rohingya is being rumoured, and Bangladesh Border Guards (BGB) have beefed up security in the region.
He, however, said that several unknown people, who are not residents in the area, have been spotted. They are mostly small-time arms traders and are venturing inside Rakhine State to collect weapons to be sold to prospective buyers.
On the other hand, Myanmar’s ethnic Brotherhood Alliance has issued a Chinese New Year message declaring the military regime in Naypyidaw, the capital of Myanmar, will be routed by the end of this year.
The Brotherhood Alliance is made up of three armed organizations – the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), and the Arakan Army (AA). The alliance was formed after launching Operation 1027 last October.
The rebel alliance envisages toppling the military dictatorship and reinstating a democratically elected government and can be accomplished in this Year of the Dragon.
The Alliance spokesperson said it was currently clearing leftover explosives, enforcing law and order, and rebuilding damaged roads and bridges in areas seized by the MNDAA and TNLA.
Confirming its military and political objectives remain unchanged, the alliance said it had the same aspiration as the Myanmar people and was taking action every day to achieve that end.
Messenger/Disha
