A/HRC/60/20 “extremist Muslim armed groups”,18 multiple interviewees attributed responsibility to the Arakan Army, stating that attacking drones had come from areas under the Arakan Army’s control, where the military was not present. Drone attacks on fleeing civilians continued on 6 August 2024. One interviewee described having been on a boat with 50 people when it was hit, killing 38 people, including 4 children. 44. After months of atrocities and suffering, the conflict dynamics shifted south and east, leading to a comparative decrease in violence affecting the Rohingya. By May 2025, the military’s control had dwindled to Sittwe and Kyaukpyu, while Rohingya remained exposed to myriad abuses and violations. In an incident on 20 December 2024, three boys between the ages of 13 and 16 went missing while returning from fishing in Kya Kaung Taung, Maungdaw Township, an area under the Arakan Army’s control. Their remains, identified by their clothes, were found two months later. Hopes that the situation of the Rohingya would improve under the Arakan Army as the new duty bearer were shattered, as violence and abuses against Rohingya civilians continued routinely, including through widespread arrests under the pretext of searching for alleged members of Rohingya armed groups. While in April and May 2025, sources reported initial returns of the displaced to certain areas of origin, the majority of Rohingya remained displaced, with estimates indicating at least 80,000 in northern Rakhine State. On 26 April 2025, 18 families who had left Bangladesh to return to Maungdaw were arrested upon their arrival in their village by the Arakan Army. As of May 2025, they remained detained in Maungdaw. That and similar accounts have contributed to increased levels of fear among displaced Rohingya and are likely to have deterred other families from returning from Bangladesh. 45. Reports were received implicating all parties active in the Rakhine conflict in the conscription, forced recruitment and use of Rohingya, including children, in combat and supporting roles, such as portering, but there was no comprehensive data to assess its full extent or impact. 46. The military recruited Rohingya as part of their conscription process, despite refusing to recognize their citizenship rights. Some joined voluntarily, following enticements by the military promising to grant recruits citizenship and other benefits. Those promises have remained unfulfilled. By using Rohingya, the military preserved its own troops while hindering Arakan Army advances and ignited interethnic tensions that may have long-term repercussions. As the military retreated to Sittwe, it recruited Rohingya from camps and villages in and around the capital of Rakhine State, with sources reporting that each village had had to provide up to 30 recruits per month. Individuals of conscription age who refused to serve in the military faced beatings, the forced removal from villages and arrest. Reportedly, some Rohingya had been spared conscription by paying large sums. Forced recruitment was also carried out by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army through threats and abductions of young Rohingya people. Interviewees also reported abductions in Bangladesh by the Rohingya Solidarity Organization, including of children, to be deployed alongside the military in Rakhine. 47. Although the Arakan Army unequivocally stated to OHCHR that “the AA has never forcibly recruited anyone in Arakan”, credible reports of forced recruitment were received from camps in Sittwe in December 2024 and from Buthidaung, Maungdaw, Pauktaw, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Minbya and Myebon during the reporting period. Newly arrived Rohingya in Bangladesh cited forced recruitment as a key reason for their decision to flee. Arakan Army fighters reportedly subjected Rohingya villages to recruitment quotas and interviewees expressed fears that non-compliance could lead to punishment, including displacement. Arbitrary deprivation of liberty and the use of torture and ill-treatment in the forced recruitment process, justified by allegations of links with Rohingya armed groups, were repeatedly reported. Survivors described harrowing experiences of torture and ill-treatment in Arakan Army custody, including in Buthidaung prison, ranging from beatings, the burning of body parts and mutilations to forced labour. In several cases, relatives of those deprived of liberty received no information on the fate and whereabouts of detainees. 18 10 See United League of Arakan, statement No. 16/2024, 7 August 2024, available at https://www.arakanarmy.net/post/statement-10.