They are said to stay at home in the day time. They are assured that there will be no problem. Later, they set fire to houses and fired at people and killed them. The Myanmar army has taken this new strategy to ensure that Rakhine villages are completely free from Rohingya.
Those who left the village last Saturday (9th September), they shared this information to the Bangla Tribune in an interview. These homeless people said, ‘The army called the chairmen of the area and assured everyone to stay at home. But at night they (army) set fire to the houses. When the Rohingya rushed out of the burning house, they (army) shot and killed them.
Jafar Alam (40) entered Bangladesh from Lamba Bil, Teknaf at 11 am on Saturday. His father's name is Zakir Hossain. Zafar Alam is the Chairman of Maungdaw Morikong area. I talked with him sitting in Teknaf's Waikong area.
He told the Bangla Tribune, "I have been Chairman of the area for ten years. I often talked with Border Guard Police (BGP) of Myanmar. My mobile number was in the collection of them. They called me by phone. I went and talked to them. If they had any instructions, they would have shared with me and I spread that news to the people of the area. I used to tell everyone to do accordingly. On 8th and 16th of every month, they held meetings with the chairmen of each area in Maungdaw.
Zafar Alam said, "On September 5, a senior officer of the Border Guard Police (BGP) called me. They told me, 'There is no problem. Now you all stay at home. There will be no problem. If you have trouble, call the Hot Line 552 or on my mobile number. Do not go to Bangladesh. He talked to me till 9 pm. At that time, the person who used to do the duty in that Morikong area for BGP was also there. I came home at 9 pm. Later, at 12 o'clock, they set the fire in the neighboring village. Then we all came out of the house and stood outside.
He also said, "Myanmar members are counted every year from door to door. Photos are taken. Next year, the photo is matched with the members of the current year. When an extra member was seen, they captured and killed him. They (the army) suspect, if the boys grow up, they will be terrorists.
Chairman Zafar Alam’s are seven siblings. His wife's name is Zohra Bibi (30). He has four children. He has three sons and one daughter. He said about the reasons for his return with the family to Bangladesh. ‘If I came before, all of the people of my area will come behind me. If I come here first as a chairman, everyone will be scared. So, I stayed there though there was the risk. So many people who have come from far away, I fed them with beef and I slaughtered 43 cows for this.’
He said, 'I have huge land area. Two shrimp farm. I have everything at home. I have a building in Baliyabazar area. I have left all. '
UP chairman Zafar Alam's father’s name is Zakir Hossain. His grandfather’s name is Mia Hossain. His ancestors are the resident of Rakhine. He showed the pictures of his house and burst out into tears.
In the stable situation, 20 armies each have been patrolled by two shifts every day in our area. After this incident, their numbers have increased a lot. The helicopter patrols in the sky,’ he added.
He said, "The newspapers of Myanmar used to publish all the lies. We did not see any of the attacks that they published about the terrorist attack. They should arrest those who attacked them. We did nothing. When an army member dies in other states than Rakhine, do they drive everyone out from that area? '
In the Rakhine state, no outsider enters, he said, "If any relatives came in their home, they called them as terrorists. That’s why no one goes to their relative house. If they found an outsider, they file a suit on four charges. The accused were charged with providing food to the terrorists, giving place, giving money and sharing the news. They capture them and keep them in jail. '
He said that 12 chairman of the area is in jail at present. Chairman Zafar Alam has taken refuge in Hannan area of Teknaf with his family. There is also doubt about whether he can return to the country or not.