Myanmar: Rebel forces abduct journalist over civil war coverage

Journalist Mu Dra was abducted from her home in Myanmar’s Rakhine state by the rebel Arakan Army on September 20. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate, the Myanmar Journalists Network (MJN), in calling for her immediate release and urges all parties to prioritise the safety of media workers reporting on Myanmar’s civil war.

The Border News Agency journalist was abducted from her home in Maungdaw and remains held under interrogation at the Arakan Army Intelligence Office, according to a statement from the Agency on September 22.

Mu Dra is known for reporting on human rights abuses and the ongoing conflict in Rakhine State, regularly documenting forced recruitment, abductions, and violence against vulnerable communities. The Agency saidher abduction undermines efforts to amplify the voices of ethnic and religious minorities in the conflict-affected region and appealed to the ethnic armed organisation (EAO) for the journalist’s immediate release on humanitarian grounds and with respect for international law.

The Arakan Army, formed in 2009 and currently fighting against the Myanmar military junta, has faced recent allegations of policies targeting the Rohingya minority in the region. Journalists across the country have faced ongoing threats and targeting from both the military regime and opposition rebel groups since the February 2021 coup d’état.

Since the 2021 coup, at least seven journalists have been killed, according to the IFJ’s affiliate, Myanmar Journalists Network (MJN). As of August 2025, the International Centre for Not-for-Profit Law recorded at least 223 journalists detained by the junta, with 91 sentenced to a combined total of 511 years in prison.

The MJN said: “The arrest of a journalist from the Border News Agency by the Arakan Army indicates that the threat to press freedom in Myanmar is not exclusive to the military regime. MJN demands that all armed groups respect freedom of the press. We call for the media to be recognised not as propaganda tools for any armed faction, but as independent organisations working to amplify the voices of the people and advocate for their interests.”

The IFJ said: “Journalists should never be targeted in retaliation for their reporting. The IFJ urges the Arakan Army to immediately release Mu Dra and stresses that all parties in Myanmar’s civil war have a fundamental responsibility to protect critical voices reporting on the conflict.”

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