Nearly seven years after the Myanmar military killed thousands of Muslim Rohingyas, the junta is now seeking their help to fight against an ethnic insurgent group called the Arakan Army.
At least 100 Rohingya individuals have been conscripted in recent weeks to fight for the embattled junta. All their names have been changed to protect their identities, reports BBC.
At least 150,000 internally displaced Rohingyas have been forced to live in IDP camps for the past decade near the capital of Rakhine, Sittwe. Rohingya residents have reported that army officers have been visiting the camps and ordering younger men to report for military training, reports BBC.
Myanmar is currently facing a genocide trial at the International Court of Justice in the Hague over its treatment of the Rohingyas.
The fact that the same army is now forcibly recruiting them is a telling sign of its desperation, especially after losing significant territory in Rakhine to the Arakan Army. Dozens of Rohingyas in Rakhine have been killed by military artillery and aerial bombardments.
The military has also suffered significant losses to opposition forces in other parts of the country. For instance, on Saturday, it lost control of Myawaddy, a town on the eastern border with Thailand, through which most of the country's overland trade passes.
The junta has experienced large numbers of soldiers being killed, wounded, surrendered, or defecting to the opposition, making finding replacements difficult. Few are willing to risk their lives propping up an unpopular regime.
Rohingyas fear that they are being targeted again to serve as cannon fodder in a war that the junta appears to be losing.
