A global coalition of 26 Rohingya organizations has issued an urgent appeal to Western governments to impose targeted sanctions on the Arakan Army (AA/ULA) and its leadership for what they describe as widespread and systematic human rights violations against Rohingya civilians in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.

In a powerful joint statement released Thursday, the coalition—comprised of Rohingya refugee and diaspora groups across the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand—condemned the AA’s escalating campaign of violence, including mass killings, arbitrary arrests, forced displacement, and the destruction of entire villages.

The groups compared the Arakan Army’s actions to those of Myanmar’s military junta, which is already under international sanctions for genocidal acts against the Rohingya. “Western countries which have sanctioned the Burmese military for human rights violations must now explain why they have not sanctioned the Arakan Army, which is committing the same crimes against Rohingya civilians,” the statement read.

Arakan Army: The “New Junta” in Rakhine

Once perceived by some as an ethnic resistance group, the Arakan Army is increasingly being accused of acting as a parallel authoritarian regime in Rakhine. “The Arakan Army is becoming the new junta in western Myanmar,” said a Rohingya rights advocate based in Europe. “It now exercises unchecked power over civilian populations, including through violent ethnic cleansing, arbitrary detention, and denial of humanitarian access.”

Analysts and human rights observers note that the AA’s expansion of territorial control has been accompanied by alarming abuses targeting the Rohingya—reminiscent of past crimes committed by the military. With both state and non-state actors now complicit in repression, the Rohingya community finds itself caught in a deadly pincer.

Maritime Tragedies and Mounting Death Toll

The statement also urged the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to launch an independent investigation into two major boat disasters in early May 2025. At least 427 Rohingya refugees—many of them women and children—are feared dead or missing after attempting to flee by sea. These tragedies have sparked global alarm, further exposing the desperation of a stateless people trapped between persecution and perilous escape routes.

According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), nearly 1 in 5 Rohingya who attempted sea crossings in 2025 have died or disappeared, making the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea among the deadliest migration routes in the world.

Villages Torched, Families on the Run

On land, the situation is no less dire. Ground operations by the Arakan Army have displaced over 200,000 civilians, with eyewitness accounts confirming the burning of Rohingya villages and widespread flight into forests or across borders. Over 118,000 Rohingya have fled into Bangladesh or neighboring countries in the past few months alone.

The coalition is demanding a robust international response that includes:

• Immediate sanctions on the Arakan Army and its leadership,
• An independent UN investigation into AA-perpetrated abuses,
• Accountability for sea deaths linked to forced displacement, and
• The release of unlawfully detained Rohingya civilians in AA-controlled areas.

The statement paints a grim picture of a community without protection. “We are stateless. We are voiceless. And now, we are dying—again,” said a Rohingya activist from the diaspora. “The world cannot stay silent while we are burned out of our homes and drowned at sea.”

Rohingya communities warn that what’s unfolding is no longer a localized ethnic conflict—it is a regional humanitarian crisis. They call on the international community to act urgently, before more lives are lost and another chapter of genocide is written in silence.

BOB Post