A video claiming to show the presence of an armed group in Ruma Bazar of Bandarban has been circulating on the social media platform Facebook. However, verification reveals that the footage does not originate from the Bandarban region of Bangladesh but rather features the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), an armed group based in the Philippines. The group has long been engaged in a struggle to establish an autonomous region on the country’s Mindanao island.

The 16-second video shows several individuals walking along a road while carrying firearms. Multiple Facebook pages and personal profiles have posted the video with the claim that it depicts a scene from Ruma Bazar in Bandarban. One such post states, “Armed groups are freely roaming around Ruma Bazar in Bandarban carrying M-16 rifles. Where is the army? Where is the country’s sovereignty?”

Keyframe search of the video reveals that it was uploaded on July 29 by a YouTube channel named “Shooter Channel.” The same video was also posted on July 31 from a Facebook profile called “Basilan Biaf.”

Both the YouTube channel and the Facebook profile have published several other videos featuring the same armed group. In these videos, the logo of the armed group can be clearly seen on the clothing and bags of the individuals. The group shown in the video circulated with the claim of being from Bandarban bears matching logos and attire to those seen in the other videos. This logo belongs to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), an armed organization based in the Philippines.

Additionally, a 2012 report published by the BBC on the Moro Islamic Liberation Front also shows similar logos on the clothing of armed individuals.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s flag predominantly features green, with a white section that includes a crescent moon and a star. The green portion of the flag includes a sword. The circular MILF logo closely follows the design of the flag. The same type of flag appears in multiple videos published by the YouTube channel “Shooter Channel.”

It is noteworthy that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is an organization of the Moro Muslim community in the Mindanao region of the Philippines. The group is engaged in a struggle to establish autonomy for the Moro people.

Source: https://dismislab.com/factcheck/community/philippines-video-shared-as-bandarban-armed-group/