Who are Harakah al-Yaqin?
Formed after the 2012 riot, Harakah al-Yaqin (Faith Movement, HaY) is led by a committee of Rohingyas living in Saudi Arabia and is commanded on the ground by Rohingyas, according to Brussels-based group International Crisis Group (ICG).
HaY is represented by Ata Ullah, who was born in Karachi to a Rohingya father and grew up in Mecca. He is also identified as Hafiz Tohar by the Myanmar government, presumably an alias, according to ICG.He is part of a group of 20 Rohingyas who have international experience in modern guerrilla warfare and are leading operations on the ground. After the military crackdown began, the Myanmar president’s office issued a statement claiming that some 400 members of Aqa Mul Mujahideen, a little-known Islamist militant group linked to al-Qaeda and Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO), had conducted the attack.Aqa Mul Mujahideen or Huji-Arakan is another Rohingya-backed militant group. It is not clear whether HaY and Aqa Mul Mujahideen are the same. Some of the HaY leaders have repeatedly claimed to the Dhaka Tribune that they have no connection with RSO or any other terrorist groups.Meanwhile, al-Qaeda’s Bangladesh offshoot Ansar al-Islam as well as banned militant outfit Hizb ut-Tahrir have extended their support to HaY and urged Muslims around the world to fight the Myanmar government's oppression in Rakhine.International terrorist group Islamic State revealed its plan to attack Buddhist-majority Myanmar establishments through a statement published in Dabiq magazine in April 2016.In late November last year, a pro-Islamic State Telegram channel suggested that Muslims in the UK who can not go to Myanmar can attack the country’s embassy and ambassador at home.The Afghan Taliban on November 30 reiterated its call to Muslims as well as Islamic charitable organisations to take action in support of their brethren in Myanmar.He claimed the army knew they would not be able to face the rebels on the ground, so they used helicopters. Now weakened, HaY members went into hiding in the villages and the border areas, frequently changing locations. “Some of us managed to flee to Bangladesh,” he added. The Second-In-Command took a pause and offered this correspondent some wild potatoes and bananas. “This is all we have to survive,” he said.
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All five HaY fighters were jittery and scanned the area for any suspicious movement during the entire conversation. “The military crackdown also turned local Rohingyas against HaY,” the Second-In-Command continued. “When the army raided and tortured innocent Rohingyas, they became scared and lost faith in us. They began to flee Arakan,” he said. Asked whether any Rohingyas refugees from Bangladesh had joined their group, the leader said: “We have Rohingya brothers from everywhere.” Sources in the refugee camps and some HaY members said some refugees left Bangladesh to join the group, and no one knows where they are now. Some HaY followers in Cox's Bazar said they were instructed to remain in hiding and wait for further instruction. “But the instruction never came,” said one of the followers. “After a while, we gave up and came back.” They also said they had no intention of re-joining the insurgent group, now hated by most Rohingyas. Myanmar Rohingya refugees bury the body of six-month-old Alam in a refugee camp in Teknaf, in Cox's Bazar district, on November 26, 2016 AFPBack in no man's land, the leader claimed losing the grounds and followers had not broken their spirit. “Our Rohingya brothers around the world are trying to negotiate with world leaders to put pressure on the Myanmar government, but it is not working. So that makes us bound to do armed revolution against the government for our rights.” He said there was no question of surrendering. “We will fight until the last drop of our blood is spilled.” This is where the leader ended the conversation. Issuing another warning to not reveal their names and locations, the fourth contact person brought this correspondent back to the first rendezvous point the same way.