 Rohingya in Maungdaw Being Massacred While the World Looks Away  21 August 2024 London UK/ Teknaf Bangladesh – Burma Human Rights Network is calling on the international community to take action to protect the Rohingya living in Rakhine State, particularly those from Maungdaw Township. Fighting between the Burmese military and the Arakan Army has been ongoing for weeks, but the junta has retreated from the township. Now, several eyewitnesses have told BHRN that they witnessed attacks on Rohingya civilians as they fled the township, with many describing in similar detail the use of crude drones, akin to ones commercially available, with bombs or artillery shells attached to them used against Rohingya civilians. Others have described shootings, arbitrary detention, and other abuses that have resulted in a high number of civilian deaths. The attacks on the Rohingya have resulted in a mass exodus from the Township, with many fleeing into Bangladesh. On 16 August, fresh attacks on the Rohingya in Maungdaw included widespread burning of civilian homes, forcing many of the remaining population to flee. Witnesses have blamed the Arakan Army for the fires. The National Unity Government, EAOs, and the other militias throughout Burma have been reluctant to comment on actions by The Arakan Army, and this silence serves as permission for them to disregard the human rights of Rohingya civilians. Arakan Army’s attacks on the Rohingya violate the International Court of Justice’s provisional measures on Burma that expressly prohibit attacks on Rohingya that would further harm the community. The NUG and various armed groups that are meant to represent the people of Burma are also responsible for the country’s international obligations. Policy papers on the Rohingya lack weight if the NUG accompanies them with silence on the Rohingya’s current suffering at the hands of an ally. The current exodus of the Rohingya into Bangladesh should be considered a continuation of the crimes against the Rohingya in 2017. The International Criminal Court should include these crimes in its investigation into the Genocide against the Rohingya. “The Rohingya are being brutally attacked, and the world is shamefully uninterested and uninvolved. The Rohingya can no longer be left to languish and wait for the next wave of mass killings as they have for decades. The international community needs to take steps to protect the Rohingya. If Muslims anywhere in the world treated civilians this way, they would be designated a terrorist group without hesitation. The world must hold the same standard when Muslims are the victims,” said BHRN’s Executive Director, Kyaw Win. A 22-year-old woman from Haree Para village told BHRN on 14 August, “AA was killing Rohingya, and I saw AA entering the villages to slaughter our parents, brothers, sisters, and others. AA killed my nine family members, my parents, and my siblings. They were killed brutally and weren’t allowed to live. [They] killed my family, so I escaped with other fleeing Rohingya, and I’m helpless and don’t have anyone.” Her plight didn’t end once she fled Maungdaw but continued as she attempted to cross into Bangladesh. She told BHRN, “ I crossed the Naf River by dingy. When we were escaping, they bombed over us, and we saw many dead bodies, and we arrived at the river crossing dead bodies.” The Burmese Army is believed to have already left Maungdaw long before the incident described above. When BHRN asked the young woman if any Rohingya militants were present at the time, she said she had not seen them anywhere near where she was. It is hard to believe that crossfire incidents are responsible for these incidents. The drones villagers describe are similar to those used by many of the militias against the junta. A 22-year-old man from Pan Taw Pyin Village told BHRN, “Rohingya are targeted and bombarded where they can see many Rohingya [are gathered]. We didn’t see AA attack over the Rakhines’ villages. Every day, in every hour, AA drones attacked over Rohingya villages.” The young man told BHRN that the drones were small ‘camera drones’ like the ones available to consumers. He said that the military’s drones are larger, look like airplanes, don’t carry crude bombs, and are usually used for surveillance. That same man told BHRN that as he fled, he was detained by AA at gunpoint, beaten, and forced to say in front of a camera that AA did not attack the Rohingya. He believed the soldier then sent the video to a higher-ranking officer. BHRN is calling on the international community, especially on UN, US, UK, EU, OIC and ASEAN to provide safe refuge for Rohingya fleeing Maungdaw, conduct a thorough investigation into the actions taken by the Arakan Army, and if that investigation implicates AA in attacks on civilians, then they must consider all options to address their behaviour including sanctions and designation as a proscribed group. BHRN calls on the National Unity Government, the People’s Defense Forces, and Ethnic Arms Organisations in Burma to disavow the attacks on the Rohingya civilians and commit to a future that includes Rohingya as equal citizens with full rights. Organisation’s Background BHRN is based in London, operates across Burma and works for human rights, minority rights and religious freedom in Burma. BHRN has played a crucial role in advocating for human rights and religious freedom with politicians and world leaders. Media Enquiries Please contact: Kyaw Win, Executive Director Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN) E: [email protected] T: +44(0) 740 345 2378 Ye Min Editor Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN) E: [email protected] T: +66(0) 994 942 358 Burma Human Rights Network | Address | Phone | Email | Website Connect with us    |
