Tens of thousands of Muslim minority Rohingya are feared to be caught in fighting in western Myanmar, as a powerful armed ethnic group bears down on junta positions in a coastal town on the country’s border with Bangladesh.
The Arakan Army (AA), which is fighting for autonomy for Myanmar’s Rakhine region, said late on Sunday that residents of Maungdaw town, inhabited primarily by the Rohingya, should leave by 9 p.m. ahead of a planned offensive on the settlement.
The AA’s attack on Maungdaw is the latest in a months-long rebel onslaught against the Myanmar junta, which took power in a February 2021 coup, and now finds itself in an increasingly weakened position across large parts of the country.
“We are going to attack the remaining posts” of junta, the AA said in a statement, asking residents to stay clear of military positions in Maungdaw for their own safety.
A junta spokesman did not respond to a call seeking comment.
Around 70,000 Rohingya who are currently in Maungdaw are trapped as the fighting draws closer, said Aung Kyaw Moe, the deputy human rights minister in Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government.
“They have no where to run to,” he told Reuters.
Thousands of Rohingya fled toward neighboring Bangladesh last month, seeking safety from the escalating conflict, although the neighboring country is reluctant to accept more refugees.
Their movement was triggered by battles in and around the town of Buthidaung, around 25 km (15 miles) away to the east of Maungdaw, that was captured by the AA after intense fighting during which the rebel group was accused of targeting the Rohingya community.
The AA denies the allegations.
Rohingya have faced persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar for decades. Nearly a million of them live in refugee camps in Bangladesh’s border district of Cox’s Bazar after fleeing a military-led crackdown in Rakhine in 2017.
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Thousands of Rohingya feared trapped in fighting in western Myanmar
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Thousands of Rohingya feared trapped in fighting in western Myanmar
- Residents of Maungdaw town, inhabited primarily by the Rohingya, told to leave ahead of a planned offensive by the Arakan Army against Myanmar ruling junta forces
‘Today’ show’s Savannah Guthrie pleads for safe return of missing mother
- TV news host asks presumed captors to ‘reach out’ to family
- ‘We need to know … that she is alive,’ Guthrie says
TUCSON, Arizona: Popular US morning news anchor Savannah Guthrie posted a video message on Wednesday addressing anyone who might be holding her missing elderly mother, presumed abducted from her Arizona home this week, pleading for them to open a line of communication.
“We need to know without a doubt that she is alive and that you have her. We want to hear from you and we are ready to listen. Please, reach out to us,” the co-host of NBC’s “Today” show said in the video message posted to Instagram.
The emotional appeal came three days after Nancy Guthrie, 84, was reported missing from her home at the edge of Tucson by family members in what investigators said they believe was an abduction.
It coincided with a two-hour flurry of intense police activity at Nancy Guthrie’s home, where yellow crime-scene tape was strung up around the property for the first time this week and investigators were seen coming and going from the house.
FBI agents are assisting in the investigation.
Savannah Guthrie, 54, who appeared with her brother and sister in the video, said the family had heard media reports of a ransom note but was taking into account the fact that electronic images can be easily manipulated or faked.
The elder Guthrie was last seen on January 31 when she was dropped off at her home by relatives after having dinner with them, and she was reported missing the following day.
‘Her health is fragile’
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said the elder Guthrie had limited mobility and could not have left her home unassisted, and that her disappearance was being treated by investigators as a kidnapping.
Among other concerns for Nancy Guthrie’s well-being was that her health was dependent on daily medication.
“Her health, her heart is fragile. She lives in constant pain. She is without any medicine. She needs it to survive. She needs it not to suffer,” Savannah Guthrie said during the four-minute video.
The TV journalist, who has been co-anchor of “Today” since 2012, began Wednesday’s Instagram message thanking supporters for the outpouring of prayers.
“We feel them, and we continue to believe that she feels them too. Our mom is a kind, faithful, loyal, fiercely loving woman of goodness and light. She’s funny, spunky and clever. She has grandchildren that adore her and crowd around her and cover her with kisses. She loves fun and adventure. She is a devoted friend. She is full of kindness and knowledge. Talk to her and you’ll see,” she said.
In an update on the case issued earlier in the day, the sheriff said investigators had yet to identify any suspect or person of interest in connection with the presumed abduction. A press conference is scheduled for Thursday.
Nanos said investigators were aware of reports that some media outlets had received what appeared to be ransom notes, but he did not say whether those were being taken seriously.
US President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that he had spoken with Savannah Guthrie to let her know that all federal law enforcement would be at the “complete disposal” of the family and local investigators.
“We are deploying all resources to get her mother home safely,” Trump wrote, adding, “GOD BLESS AND PROTECT NANCY!”
“We need to know without a doubt that she is alive and that you have her. We want to hear from you and we are ready to listen. Please, reach out to us,” the co-host of NBC’s “Today” show said in the video message posted to Instagram.
The emotional appeal came three days after Nancy Guthrie, 84, was reported missing from her home at the edge of Tucson by family members in what investigators said they believe was an abduction.
It coincided with a two-hour flurry of intense police activity at Nancy Guthrie’s home, where yellow crime-scene tape was strung up around the property for the first time this week and investigators were seen coming and going from the house.
FBI agents are assisting in the investigation.
Savannah Guthrie, 54, who appeared with her brother and sister in the video, said the family had heard media reports of a ransom note but was taking into account the fact that electronic images can be easily manipulated or faked.
The elder Guthrie was last seen on January 31 when she was dropped off at her home by relatives after having dinner with them, and she was reported missing the following day.
‘Her health is fragile’
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said the elder Guthrie had limited mobility and could not have left her home unassisted, and that her disappearance was being treated by investigators as a kidnapping.
Among other concerns for Nancy Guthrie’s well-being was that her health was dependent on daily medication.
“Her health, her heart is fragile. She lives in constant pain. She is without any medicine. She needs it to survive. She needs it not to suffer,” Savannah Guthrie said during the four-minute video.
The TV journalist, who has been co-anchor of “Today” since 2012, began Wednesday’s Instagram message thanking supporters for the outpouring of prayers.
“We feel them, and we continue to believe that she feels them too. Our mom is a kind, faithful, loyal, fiercely loving woman of goodness and light. She’s funny, spunky and clever. She has grandchildren that adore her and crowd around her and cover her with kisses. She loves fun and adventure. She is a devoted friend. She is full of kindness and knowledge. Talk to her and you’ll see,” she said.
In an update on the case issued earlier in the day, the sheriff said investigators had yet to identify any suspect or person of interest in connection with the presumed abduction. A press conference is scheduled for Thursday.
Nanos said investigators were aware of reports that some media outlets had received what appeared to be ransom notes, but he did not say whether those were being taken seriously.
US President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that he had spoken with Savannah Guthrie to let her know that all federal law enforcement would be at the “complete disposal” of the family and local investigators.
“We are deploying all resources to get her mother home safely,” Trump wrote, adding, “GOD BLESS AND PROTECT NANCY!”
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