Naung Min Thu, Narinjara News, 2 February 2025 

According to members of the Mro community, the Arakan Army (AA) has taken control of the Maungdaw area in Arakan State, yet Mro families are facing difficulties in maintaining their livelihoods due to persistent security issues. 

A Mro woman stated, "In the past, we would wander freely through the forests and mountains to collect vegetables. However, at this time, we can't risk going there because of landmines and the danger posed by the ARSA terrorist organization. We can't go to the locations where we previously collected food." 

Due to the ongoing conflict, Mro women cannot journey to the distant Mayu Mountains for vegetable collection, resulting in reduced incomes and inadequate livelihoods for their families. 

The Mro community in the Arakan area, encompassing Maungdaw and Buthidaung, depends significantly on the forests and hills for their means of living. Nonetheless, the current security situation has rendered it unfeasible for them to farm the land or collect vegetables, meat, and fish from the woods and mountains. 

On September 30, 2024, U Sai Win (45) of Kaing Gyi (Mro) village, accompanied by his sons Maung Lin Gyi (15) and Maung Ah Moon (12), as well as his nephew Maung Dee Kaw (14), went fishing in the Let Wae creek within the Mayu mountain range. They have been missing since that time, and it is thought that ARSA rebels have abducted them. Consequently, Mro families have ceased venturing into the forests and mountains to collect food. 

A Mro elder from Maungdaw stated, "We can no longer walk to the distant forests and mountains to collect vegetables. After the villagers from Kaingyi vanished while looking for food, no one dares to venture into the forests and mountains anymore." 

Agriculture continues to be the main economic pursuit and means of subsistence for the Mro community. 

In 2017, ARSA militants assaulted the Mro community in the hilly areas, resulting in numerous deaths and compelling them to flee their residences in the hills. They have since had to move to the plains and reside in villages.

In 2017, ARSA militants executed an assault in Kaing Gyi (Mro) village, located in Maungdaw Township, resulting in the deaths of eight locals and severe injuries to six more. 

The Mro community is among the ethnic groups in Arakan State, numbering more than 30,000, as stated by U Zani Phyu, president of the Mro Literature and Culture Association. 

Most of the Mro population is found in Maungdaw Township, although they also inhabit Buthidaung, Ponnagyun, and Kyauktaw townships.