AA Conducts Systematic Background Checks on Rohingya in Maungdaw’s Mingalargyi Village

The Arakan Army (AA) has initiated a structured background verification process targeting Rohingya residents in Mingalargyi village tract, northern Maungdaw Township, raising concerns among local communities over surveillance and identity control practices.

According to local sources, the operation follows earlier background checks conducted by Myanmar’s military authorities and appears to replicate similar census-style procedures.

Residents said AA authorities notified the Mingalargyi village administration prior to the exercise and began documenting households using their own household registration system, commonly referred to as HRC. Individuals were photographed and recorded family-by-family, with officials reportedly classifying Rohingya under the designation “Muslim” rather than recognizing ethnic identity.

“They gathered people house by house in Thar Si village and lined them up according to family units,” said one resident who participated in the process. “If a household had one member, they photographed one. If there were five, all five were photographed. It resembled the military council’s census methods.”

Witnesses further reported that Rohingya women were prohibited from wearing hijabs or burqas during the registration process, a measure that has drawn criticism from community members.

Another resident noted that preparatory activities had begun weeks earlier, when personnel believed to be affiliated with a land registry department conducted mapping exercises and photographed residential areas.

The current operation reportedly includes the documentation of individuals previously associated with Myanmar’s military administration, including former officials, teachers, and civil servants.

Rohingya activists have linked the practice to longstanding policies of population control. One activist referenced the “Shay-Tin-Sikh” framework, a system reportedly introduced in the early 1990s to regulate Rohingya population data.

“Such mechanisms have historically been used to monitor, restrict, and systematically oppress the Rohingya population,” the activist said.