The Mro ethnic people in Maungdaw Township declared on February 23 that they would unite to build and defend the Arakan nation together.

The Mro ethnic people in Maungdaw Township stated that the Arakan Army (AA) recruited ethnic minority Mro residents for military service, including women.

The Arakan Army (AA) stated that they are recruiting Mro people to provide defense training for the protection of villages.

As a result, Mro people from villages such as Khwa Sone, Nan Yar Kine, and Khun Taing were afraid to go to the forests and mountains for work and fled to Bangladesh, according to Mro residents.

Therefore, the Mro people stated that those who fled should return without fear and work together to rebuild their communities.

“There is no need to be afraid to return home. We are showing unity by working together on what we can. This demonstrates the participation of the Mro people,” a Mro youth who participated in the demonstration told Border News Agency.

They demonstrated with slogans such as “Arakan is our land,” “We will take part in building Arakan,” and “We will take part in defending Arakan,” according to reports.

At the demonstration, messages were displayed not only in the Rakhine language and Burmese but also in the Mro script.

The northern part of Maungdaw Township is under the control of Arakan Army (AA) Division 2, and the area is governed by U Aung Pho, the political officer of the United League of Arakan/Arakan Army (ULA/AA), according to local residents.

After the demonstration, Mro youths stated that they voluntarily attended defense training to protect their own villages and communities.

Local residents in Maungdaw Township reported that on December 8 of last year, the Arakan Army (AA) successfully gained complete control of the area and has been implementing administrative machinery since then.