DHAKA: The Arakan Rohingya Solidarity Army (Arsa) have rejected accusations that they have links with al-Qaeda, Islamic State (IS) or ISIL or other armed groups, reports Al Jazeera.
Arsa, the small group of men fighting in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, also warned foreign fighters against entering Rakhine, the troubled state in Myanmar.
In a statement released on Thursday (September 14), Arsa said it had "no links with al-Qaeda, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), Lashkar-e-Taiba or any other transnational terrorist group".
In its statement, Arsa used ISIS to refer to the armed ISIL group.
It said it did not welcome the involvement of any of those entities in the conflict and called on countries in the region "to prevent terrorists from entering Arakan and making a bad situation worse".
The statement also said the group was concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Rakhine and called on aid groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to visit the area and provide life-saving assistance to those that had been affected by the violence.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a Rohingya living in Rakhine's embattled township of Buthidaung told Al Jazeera that it was unlikely that Arsa's latest announcement would sway international support in favour of the Rohingya.
More than 370,000 Rohingya have fled from Rakhine to Bangladesh after the military launched a counteroffensive following attacks by Arsa on 30 police posts and an army base last month.
Witnesses told Al Jazeera that entire Rohingya villages had been burned to the ground since the start of the security forces' operation, while Antonio Guterres, UN secretary-general, warned of the risk of ethnic cleansing, appealing to the country's authorities to end violence against the majority-Muslim Rohingya in Rakhine.
The Myanmar army has put the death toll at around 400, saying most of those killed were fighters. Residents, however, say it is more than 3,000 people.
Arsa, formerly known as Harakatul Yakeen, first emerged in October 2016 when it attacked three police outposts in the Maungdaw and Rathedaung townships, killing nine police officers.
In an 18-minute video statement released last October, Ataullah Abu Amar Jununi, the group's leader, defended the assault, blaming the Myanmar army for inciting the violence.
"For over 75 years there have been various crimes and atrocities committed against the Rohingya ... that's why we carried out the October 9, 2016, attack - to send a message that if the violence is not stopped, we have the right to defend ourselves," he said.
BDST: 1155 HRS, SEP 15, 2017
SI
