Rohingya insurgents have declared a month-long ceasefire from Sunday to allow relief groups to distribute aid in the restive Rakhine state, Reuters reported. In its statement, the insurgents identified as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army urged the nation’s military to lower their offensive and allow humanitarian groups to provide aid to the affected people.
Almost 3 lakh Rohingya Muslims have fled the violence in Rakhine to Bangladesh and 30,000 non-Muslim civilians have been displaced after the military launched a counter-offensive following attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army insurgents on 30 police posts and an army base on August 25.
“ARSA strongly encourages all concerned humanitarian actors resume their humanitarian assistance to all victims of the humanitarian crisis, irrespective of ethnic or religious background during the ceasefire period,” a statement said.
The Rohingya crisis
The Rohingya have been denied citizenship in Myanmar and are classified as illegal immigrants, despite them claiming roots that go back centuries. The community has been subjected to violence by the Buddhist majority and the Army in Myanmar. The country’s de-facto leader and Nobel Peace Prize-winner Aung San Suu Kyi has been criticised for failing to stand up for more than 1 million stateless Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine.
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