Bangladesh authorities strongly denied claims of any kind of militant activity within the Rohingya refugee camps, following a report by the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) warning that armed Rohingya factions are preparing to confront Myanmar’s Arakan Army.
Officials responsible for overseeing the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar said “no such militant activity has been detected.”
“We are constantly monitoring the camps. Law enforcement agencies are patrolling day and night. It is impossible for such activities to happen under our watch,” said Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Mohammed Mizanur Rahman.
He called the report’s allegations “untrue” and insisted that there is no evidence of any armed group training or recruiting from inside the camps.
“These are misleading statements. We have found no indication of such operations,” he added.
The report, titled “Bangladesh/Myanmar: The Dangers of a Rohingya Insurgency”, warns that as the Arakan Army advances through Rakhine state, rival Rohingya factions — including the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO), and other lesser-known armed outfits — are forming tactical alliances and preparing for confrontation.
The ICG notes that some of these groups are using religious messaging to attract new recruits from the refugee camps in Bangladesh.
“Religious leaders sympathetic to the insurgents are promoting narratives that cast armed resistance as a religious duty,” the report said, adding that such appeals could radicalize sections of the displaced population who already feel abandoned and hopeless.
“These armed factions are now more coordinated than ever,” the report cautions.
“They have set aside rivalries and are planning joint operations. If this escalates, it could lead to serious damage, not only in Rakhine, but also in terms of regional security and refugee management.”
The ICG also expressed concern over the possibility of the camps in Cox’s Bazar being drawn into this growing conflict.
It warned that if Rohingya armed groups establish a base of operations in the camps, it could provoke further instability and lead to cross-border tensions between Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Religion becomes a tool
For years, the Rohingya armed landscape has been fractured, marred by internal rivalries, weak coordination, and a lack of broader support.
But the dynamics are shifting. Groups such as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), the Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO), and the relatively new Arakan Rohingya Army (ARA) are now reportedly working together.
According to ICG, these groups have set aside their ideological and operational differences to confront a common enemy: the Arakan Army, which has accused Rohingya communities of collaborating with Myanmar’s military.
In response, the AA has carried out attacks on Rohingya villages, abducted civilians, and blocked humanitarian access.
This pressure, the report says, has pushed the Rohingya armed factions to form a tactical alliance. Field coordination, intelligence sharing, and even joint patrols are now part of their evolving strategy.
Perhaps more concerning is how these groups are recruiting new fighters. The report says that Rohingya militants are increasingly turning to religious narratives to rally support, especially among refugees in camps in southern Bangladesh.
Preachers sympathetic to the insurgents have been promoting the idea that taking up arms is not just a political act, but a religious obligation to protect the Rohingya people from annihilation.
Such messages, amplified by frustration, poverty, and lack of future prospects, resonate with segments of young refugees who have spent most of their lives in limbo.
“The sense of abandonment and injustice in the camps is real,” the report says. “When combined with calls to defend the community in the name of faith, the risk of radicalization grows exponentially.”
A dangerous trajectory
The Crisis Group, however, warns that the window to act is shrinking. As the Arakan Army consolidates control in Rakhine and the Rohingya remain stateless with little hope of repatriation, the conditions for armed mobilization are becoming more fertile.
If the current trajectory continues, the report says: “it will cause serious damage”, not just in Myanmar, but in terms of regional peace and refugee protection. A militarized Rohingya movement could provoke harsh crackdowns, disrupt humanitarian aid, and weaken international sympathy for the refugee cause.
The organization has called for immediate preventive steps, improving camp security, expanding youth engagement programs, and initiating diplomatic efforts to ease tensions between Rohingya groups and the Arakan Army.
It also urges the international community to push for a durable political solution to the Rohingya crisis — one that addresses root causes, not just symptoms.
Bangladesh, which has hosted nearly one million Rohingya refugees since 2017, remains wary of any instability spilling over from across the border.
Over the past two years, they have tightened camp security and launched operations against suspected criminal networks — but officials insist that militant infiltration has not taken root.
