Ataullah abu Ammar Jununi

Ataullah abu Ammar Jununi
Native name
عطالله أبو عمار جنوني
Other name(s)Ata Ullah
BornKarachi, Pakistan
AllegianceArakan Rohingya Salvation Army
Active9 October 2016 (2016-10-09) – present
Battles / warsInternal conflict in Myanmar
Signature

Ataullah abu Ammar Jununi[1][2] (Arabic: عطالله أبو عمار جنوني) is the leader of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a Rohingya insurgent group active in northern Rakhine State.[3] Ataullah appears in several videos released online by ARSA, where he gives press statements and speeches.[4]

Early life

Ataullah was born in Karachi, Pakistan to a migrant family, who had fled the religious persecution in his native Rakhine State in Myanmar (also known as Arakan, Burma) sometime in the 1960s.[5] At an early age, Ataullah's family moved to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, where he was enrolled in an Islamic school.[3] In his later years in Mecca, Ataullah served as an imam to the Rohingya diaspora community of around 150,000.[6]

Insurgency

The International Crisis Group (ICG) said in a report that it interviewed members of his group. The think-tank said that the leader of the group has close links with Saudi Arabia.[7] The ICG report released in December 2016 states that he left Saudi Arabia in 2012, shortly after religiously motivated violence erupted in Rakhine State. A Myanmar government press release claims Ataullah spent six months training in modern guerrilla warfare under the Taliban in Pakistan. The ICG report stated that though not confirmed, there are indications he went to Pakistan, and possibly elsewhere, and that he received practical training in modern guerrilla warfare. Several members of the group also stated to ICG that he may have received additional training in Libya before his return to Rakhine State, but this remains unconfirmed.[3]

On 9 October 2016, Ataullah led hundreds of ARSA insurgents to the Bangladesh–Myanmar border, where they attacked Burmese border police posts.[8] A week later, Ataullah appeared in a video online, claiming responsibility for the attacks.[3][4]

Ataullah led a second large-scale attack on 25 August 2017, which resulted in the deaths of 71 people.[9][10][11] ARSA was blamed for the Kha Maung Seik massacre (the killings of 99 Bengali Hindus) that occurred on the same day, a charge Ataullah denies.[12]

Ataullah's half-brother Muhammad Shah Ali, a member of ARSA, was arrested by the Armed Police Battalion on 16 January 2022 in a camp near Cox's Bazar while carrying arms and drugs.[13]

After his half-brother was arrested, Ataullah was interviewed by Bangladeshi news channel, Jamuna TV in February 2022.[14]

Ataullah was accused by Bangladesh Police in an investigative report submitted in June 2022 of ordering the murder of Mohib Ullah because he feared his and his organization Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights's popularity, which he believed could be an impediment in ARSA's operations. The police also stated that he had told Mohib Ullah to shut down the operations of his organization and join ARSA, but he refused.[15]

References

  1. ^ McPherson, Poppy (2 September 2017). "'We die or they die': Rohingya insurgency sparks fresh violence in Myanmar". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 September 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  2. ^ "Who Are the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army?". Radio Free Asia. Archived from the original on 1 December 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d Millar, Paul (16 February 2017). "Sizing up the shadowy leader of the Rakhine State insurgency". Southeast Asia Globe Magazine. Archived from the original on 24 February 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  4. ^ a b McPherson, Poppy (17 November 2016). "'It will blow up': fears Myanmar's deadly crackdown on Muslims will spiral out of control". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 26 August 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  5. ^ Sakhawat, Adil (20 October 2017). "Who is Ata Ullah – the man at the heart of the Myanmar conflict?". Dhaka Tribune. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022.
  6. ^ Mike Winchester. "Birth of an ethnic insurgency in Myanmar". Asia Times. Archived from the original on 2 March 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  7. ^ J, Jacob (15 December 2016). "Rohingya militants in Rakhine have Saudi, Pakistan links, think tank says". Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  8. ^ "Rakhine unrest leaves four Myanmar soldiers dead". BBC News. 12 October 2016. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  9. ^ "Myanmar tensions: Dozens dead in Rakhine militant attack". BBC News. 25 August 2017. Archived from the original on 5 February 2024. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  10. ^ Htusan, Esther (25 August 2017). "Myanmar: 71 die in militant attacks on police, border posts". AP News. Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  11. ^ Lone, Wa; Slodkowski, Antoni (24 August 2017). "At least 12 dead in Muslim insurgent attacks in northwest Myanmar". Reuters. Archived from the original on 6 May 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  12. ^ "Myanmar: New evidence reveals Rohingya armed group massacred scores in Rakhine State". www.amnesty.org. 22 May 2018. Archived from the original on 5 February 2024.
  13. ^ "Bangladesh arrests brother of Rohingya insurgency leader". Agence France-Presse. France 24. 16 January 2022. Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  14. ^ "আরসা প্রধান আতাউল্লাহ: Full Interview Uncut" [ARSA Chief Ataullah: Full Uncut Interview]. Jamuna TV (in Bengali). Bangladesh. 22 February 2024. Archived from the original on 2 March 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  15. ^ "Police report: ARSA rebel chief ordered Rohingya leader Muhib Ullah gunned down". Radio Free Asia. 14 June 2022. Archived from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2022.


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