Rohingya youth and men have been forcibly conscripted into the Myanmar military, but the number is likely to have exceeded 5,000 by now.145 After a short period of abusive military training, they are routinely deployed to the frontlines, where many are believed to have been killed. In January, BROUK documented the forced recruitment of 80 Rohingya men from Darpaing village and IDP camp. Soldiers arrived in the area in four military vehicles and began arresting youth and young men in the street. They also forced their way into shelters and took away men they found.146 At least three men who were among those forcibly recruited by the Myanmar military from Thae Chaung camp in January and February this year are believed to have been killed on the frontlines. Families of forced recruits do not get any official confirmation of their deaths, and their loved ones’ bodies are not returned to them.147 Rohingya IDPs and villagers in the Sittwe area also report that conscription orders are accompanied by extortion demands from the Myanmar military. Instead of the regime paying salaries to the recruits, every month money is forcibly collected from all IDPs in the camps to pay salaries directly to the families of forced recruits. This scheme is reportedly administered through the regime-appointed Camp Management Committees and village administrators.148 Such demands are compounding the famine conditions prevalent in the camps and are particularly difficult for widows and single mothers to meet, as they have no regular source of income.149 BROUK has received reports that some Rohingya men are so desperate to earn money to feed their families that they have expressed the desire to be selected for forced recruitment, simply so that their families will receive the money and avoid starvation. Rohingya women and men in Sittwe are faced with unthinkable choices on a daily basis, due to the highly coercive environment in the camps and the risk of starvation. Killing members of the group As described above, untold numbers of Rohingya men and youth forcibly recruited by the Myanmar military have been sent to their deaths on the frontlines in Rakhine State. The regime’s blockade and restrictions on humanitarian access in Rakhine State have exacerbated acute famine conditions, especially for Rohingya. Moreover, the ever-deteriorating conditions of life inflicted upon Rohingya by the regime in north and central Rakhine State have resulted in the preventable deaths of many more Rohingya, including young children. In accordance with the Karadzic case law, the killings described above may amount to genocidal acts when intent to destroy the group in whole or in part can be inferred from the context and the actions of the perpetrators. Due to factors such as the denial of international humanitarian access, lack of international scrutiny, security issues and rolling communication blackouts, BROUK is extremely concerned that killings of Rohingya amounting to genocidal acts may be more pervasive than documented in this report. 145 HRW, ‘Myanmar: Armies Target Ethnic Rohingya, Rakhine’ (12 August 2024) citing local media reports, available at <https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/08/12/myanmar-armies-target-ethnic-rohingya-rakhine> accessed 3 June 2025. 146 BROUK reference ICJ11-PM2b-FR-SIT-1. 147 BROUK reference ICJ11-PM2c-SIT-4. 148 ibid. 149 Information about widows and single mothers kindly supplied by Research Consultant Kathy Win. 26