Dil Mohammed is not a name that inspires trust. A shadowy figure who has long operated as a middleman for the Myanmar military, facilitating illicit trade, he now stands at the forefront of a troubling new chapter in the Rohingya crisis. Not just in Arakan but in Bangladesh too. He is a key recruiter of Rohingya fighters, and he appears to operate, amidst apparent lax vigilance from the Bangladeshi authorities.
Under the guise of unifying different Rohingya factions, Dil Mohammed has been making public appearances in the refugee camps of Bangladesh, including at a massive rally on 25 December. The gathering was remarkable not just for its size but for its brazenness. Groups long dismissed as criminal elements by the Bangladesh authorities, including the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (Arsa) and the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO), were given a public stage. They made no effort to hide their objective: rallying support for war against the Arakan Army (AA).
But while these grand declarations are made openly, the actual mechanics of recruitment are kept behind closed doors. In mosques and discreet gatherings, Dil Mohammed and his close associates - the so-called “Four Brothers Alliance,” which comprises Arsa, RSO, the Arakan Rohingya Alliance (ARA), and the Rohingya Islami Mahaz (RIM) - have been laying the groundwork for what amounts to forced recruitment. They demand that each Rohingya family in the camps provide at least one male member for military training. Should they dare to refuse, they are warned, then they stand to lose their food rations.
Just a year ago, recruitment looked very different. When RSO and ARA attempted forced conscription in the camps, they were met with fierce resistance. Residents, including women, armed themselves with sticks, kitchen implements and whatever they could find to drive off recruiters who prowled the camps at night, dragging men and even underage teenagers away to Myanmar.
The backlash was significant, with camp residents openly defying the armed groups. But today, the strategy has changed.
Recruitment is being carried out in a more systematic and publicly sanctioned manner, stripping away the previous cloak-and-dagger approach. Dil Mohammed and his allies have created a new reality—one where families are pressured into surrendering an adult male voluntarily, resigning themselves to what now appears inevitable.
According to reports from these meetings, the junta in Myanmar may be facilitating the training, providing arms and logistical support. Madrasa students are allegedly being forced into recruitment, with their institutions threatened with closure if they do not comply. Those who can afford to resist face extortion, and for the poorest, there appears to be no escape.
To understand how Dil Mohammed came to wield such influence, it is necessary to look at his past - a journey from a humble background to becoming a feared power broker operating across borders.
A career built on betrayal
Dil Mohammed’s rise to power began in a small, impoverished village in northern Maungdaw. Born in Shatkinna Fara (That Kaing Nyar in Burmese), he spent his childhood as a hired labourer among the Thet community.
He managed to learn their language too despite never coming by formal education. Opportunity came in the form of a local businessman, Mohammed Rashid, who ran a bamboo business. Dil Mohammed started as a labourer but quickly ascended the ranks. He eventually handled negotiations with the military and the notorious border force, Nasaka, on behalf of his employer.
But power breeds betrayal. As his influence grew, Dil Mohammed turned against the very man who had given him a chance. Mohammed Rashid was detained by Nasaka and forced to flee. Dil Mohammed took over key aspects of the business and leveraged his relationship with the military to dominate the trade. Dil Mohammed also became known as "Zaikka" (a term derived from a Rohingya word for someone who controls fish traps in rivers or streams). He managed these traps, which were government-controlled, and used them to exploit and extort money from locals with government backing.
A life of crime and influence
He was involved in smuggling, extortion and political scheming. Though he ended up in prison at one stage, he used that time to grow even more powerful, picking up Burmese and forging stronger links with his captors. Upon his release, he resumed his trade, now with even greater impunity. He became infamous as a government informant - known as a Thabbey - singling out wealthier locals by framing them in bogus legal cases. His tactics spread fear throughout the community, affecting everyone from the well-off to the less privileged.
Between 2005 and 2010, his abuses escalated. He was accused of attempting to rape a Thet woman, but the Myanmar military shielded him to an extent. Businessmen were forced to pay bribes to secure his release. They knew that failing to do so would invite his wrath in the form of fabricated legal cases. By 2014, however, events took a turn. He was arrested again and sent to Buthidaung prison. The reason for his second incarceration remains unclear.
When the mass exodus of Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh began in 2017, Dil Mohammed was still in prison. But by 2019 or 2020, he was released and quickly resumed his old ways, re-establishing connections with Myanmar military figures and venturing into the yaba drug trade and gold smuggling. His influence reached new heights when he facilitated the transfer of nearly 500 assorted weapons for the Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) from the Myanmar military - a deal secured through his personal guarantees.
His growing power, however, also made him a target. At one point, the Arakan Army abducted him for three months, only releasing him after a hefty ransom was paid. As before, the funds were extracted from local businessmen who feared his influence. The episode goes to show the dangerous and high-stakes environment he navigates in.
The junta’s Rohingya recruiter
Dil Mohammed’s deep ties with the Myanmar military should have made him an outcast among the Rohingya, who have suffered genocide at the hands of the junta. Instead, he has been given a platform. As the Arakan Army advanced in Rakhine state in 2024, Dil Mohammed fled Maungdaw, crossing into Bangladesh. Yet, from the camps, he remains in touch with his former handlers—right up until the capture of Brigadier General Thu Rein Tun, his closest military ally, by the Arakan Army in the battle of Nakhakha-5.
And now, with not much of any visible deterrence from the Bangladeshi authorities, he is once again playing a dangerous role. From October 2024, he began making appearances at meetings in the Rohingya camps, steadily expanding his influence. By November, he addressed a massive rally at the Youth Movement for Arakan, an event where organisers had no prior knowledge that he would be speaking.
His mission to enlist Rohingya fighters lines up with Dhaka’s ongoing aim to use these refugees as a counterweight in Myanmar’s conflict-ridden Rakhine region. His presence at public gatherings has allowed him to push the agenda of militarisation on the pretext of unity. Simultaneously, behind closed doors, he and his network enforce coercive recruitment measures - threatening families with the loss of food aid and the closure of religious schools if they do not comply. The scale of his operation, his ability to dictate terms in the camps and the impunity with which he operates prove beyond doubt that Bangladesh is not just turning a blind eye but is actively enabling his campaign.
For a man who once boasted that he had "bought Bangladesh," this is perhaps the ultimate proof of his power. And for the Rohingya, caught between a brutal military and a leadership that serves external interests, it is yet another betrayal in an unending cycle of exploitation and war.
Shafiur Rahman is a journalist and documentary maker. He writes the Rohingya Refugee News newsletter.
