Ataullah abu Ammar Jununi

Ameer
Ataullah abu Ammar Jununi
Native name
عطالله أبو عمار جنوني
Other nameAta Ullah
Born
Karachi, Pakistan
AllegianceArakan Rohingya Salvation Army
Active9 October 2016 (2016-10-09) – 18 March 2025 (2025-03-18)
ConflictsInternal conflict in Myanmar
Signature

Ataullah abu Ammar Jununi[1][2] (Arabic: عطالله أبو عمار جنوني) is a Rohingya militant who serves as leader of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a Rohingya insurgent group active in northern Rakhine State, Myanmar.[3] Ataullah has appeared in several videos released online by ARSA, where he gives press statements and speeches.[4] In 2016 and 2017, Jununi led the ARSA in major attacks on Myanmar police posts on the border with Bangladesh. Following this the Tatmadaw launched operations against the Rohingya, also known as the Rohingya genocide. In March 2025, Jununi was arrested by Bangladeshi police.

Early life

Ataullah was born in Karachi, Pakistan into a Rohingya family from Myanmar who had fled religious persecution during the 1960s.[5] At an early age, Ataullah's family moved to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, where he studied in an Islamic school.[3] Ataullah later served as an imam for the Rohingya diaspora community in Mecca which numbered around 150,000, before migrating to Mutiara Damansara, Malaysia under the new title of Mevlana Hezri.[6]

Insurgency

The International Crisis Group (ICG) released a report in December 2016 stating that Jununi had close links with Saudi Arabia.[7] The ICG report states that Jununi left Saudi Arabia in 2012, shortly after religiously motivated violence erupted in Rakhine State. A Myanmar government press release claimed that Jununi spent six months training in modern guerrilla warfare under the Taliban in Pakistan. The report stated that there are indications he went to Pakistan, and possibly elsewhere, to receive training in guerrilla warfare. Several members of the group also stated to the ICG that he may have received additional training in Libya before his return to Rakhine State.[3]

On 9 October 2016, Jununi led hundreds of ARSA insurgents to the Bangladesh–Myanmar border, where they attacked Burmese border police posts.[8] A week later, Jununi appeared in a video online, claiming responsibility for the attacks.[3][4] Jununi 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 of 99 Bengali Hindus that occurred on the same day, a charge Jununi denied.[12]

Jununi'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, Jununi was interviewed by Bangladeshi news channel, Jamuna TV in February 2022.[14]

In June 2022, Bangladesh Police accused Jununi of ordering the murder of Mohib Ullah because Jununi feared that Ullah and his organization, the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights, would impede ARSA's operations. The police also accused Jununi of demanding Ullah shutdown his organization and join ARSA, which Ullah refused.[15]

Arrest

On 18 March 2025, Jununi was arrested by Bangladesh's Rapid Action Battalion in Narayanganj.[16][17][18]

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. ^ abcdMillar, 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. ^ abMcPherson, 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.
  16. ^"মোস্ট ওয়ান্টেড রোহিঙ্গা সন্ত্রাসী 'জুনুনি' র‍্যাবের হাতে গ্রেফতার". CoxsbazarNEWS.Com - CBN (in Bengali). 18 March 2025. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
  17. ^Julhas Alam (18 March 2025). "Armed Rohingya Group's Leader Is Arrested in Bangladesh". AP News. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
  18. ^Hannah Beech (19 March 2025). "Armed Rohingya Group's Leader Is Arrested in Bangladesh". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
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