Arakan News Agency
Horrifying images have recently emerged documenting a massacre of over 600 Rohingya by the separatist Arakan Army in Htan Shauk Kan village, located in Buthidaung city, Arakan State, western Myanmar, on May 2, 2024, according to the Arakan Rohingya National Council (ARNC).
Sources within the ARNC reported that the victims included women, children, the elderly, pregnant women, and persons with disabilities. Human skeletons, remains of men’s and women’s clothing, as well as small bones believed to belong to children were found at the site.
According to Nay San Lwin, deputy chairman of the ARNC, the photographs were taken in March but were only made public after survivors fled to Bangladesh. He noted that the death toll could exceed 700 or even 800, with entire families reportedly wiped out.
Eyewitness accounts from survivors said the Arakan Army forcibly evacuated the village, and those who remained were accused of collaborating with the Myanmar military and executed brutally. One survivor said over 10 members of his family were killed, with only one relative spared because he was studying in a neighboring village.
Investigations revealed that some bodies were burned using fuel in an attempt to conceal the crime. However, the photos later surfaced. A doctor who examined the images suggested that some of the skulls likely belonged to children, based on their positioning and size.
Iyaz Min Khant from the human rights group Fortify Rights said they had documented testimonies from survivors and compiled a list of more than 100 victims, stressing that the massacre constitutes a systematic war crime that must be investigated by the international community.
The ARNC confirmed it is continuing to gather evidence to hold the perpetrators accountable and has called for the case to be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Under Arakan Army rule, the Rohingya face widespread abuses, including forced evictions based on false accusations, seizure of homes and valuable property, mass displacement, and severe movement restrictions enforced through a network of checkpoints at the entrances and exits of each Rohingya village.
The Arakan Army launched a military campaign in November 2023 against the Myanmar military to gain control of Arakan State, and has since captured 14 out of 17 towns. However, the Rohingya population has suffered immensely, enduring violence, forced displacement, and persecution from both sides, in addition to the genocidal campaign by the Myanmar military in 2017, which drove nearly one million Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh.
