The insurgent Arakan Army ( AA ) and the Myanmar Armed Forces ( MAF ) are engaged in a bloody dénouement for the border town of Maungdaw in northern Myanmar.
For several weeks of intense fighting, the regime forces of the State Administration Council ( SAC ) have steadfastly defended the town, but they are almost completely in ruins all over Rakhine. However, the state’s human population has suffered a significant cost as a result of the nearly certain victory of the insurgent AA.
A fatal incident on the border with Bangladesh apparently took place on August 5 as thousands of Rohingya who were escaping Maungdaw by ship were targeted by robots dropping weapons.
Scores of deceased residents who had been hit by bombs, whether on land waiting to enter Teknaf or who may have floated up after the ships had been targeted immediately surfaced on social media. Numerous individuals asserted that the AA was to blame for the strike.
Reuters and other foreign media reported the incident several days after it occurred, but none could independently check the culprit, the possibility of multiple offenders, or the number of civilian casualties, with projections ranging broadly between 70 to 200. In recent days, a British Broadcasting Corporation ( BBC ) investigation has revealed heartbreaking survivor testimony but no conclusive proof of the attacks ‘ perpetrator.
Both the MAF and AA both frequently used weaponized unmanned aerial vehicles ( UAVs ), growing in popularity in the previous few months of fighting in Rakhine state. Therefore, it is challenging to tell which armed group operates which drones, particularly from civilians who are not familiar with military strategies and weapons systems.
The AA may also be using Myanmar army-seized heavy weaponry. The AA has fired on arteries fleeing by river and lake in recent occurrences, killing both MAF employees and their households.
The SAC selection of thousands of Rohingya males who have been trained and armed to combat alongside MAF troops has contributed to the uncertainty and rising tensions between the Rohingya and Rohingya areas.
The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army ( ARSA ), the RSO, and the Arakan Rohingya Army ( ARA ) are three of Bangladesh’s refugee camps.
Additionally, the MAF captain has armed a well-known drug dealer named Dil Mamat, according to Border News Agency.
The AA’s political wing, the United League of Arakan ( ULA ), released a statement on August 7 claiming the group was” saddened to learn from social media that in recent days, many Muslims fleeing the town have reportedly died from artillery or small arms fire, bombings, drownings, airstrikes, or massive explosions near the coast of Maungdaw, causing great distress”.
We graciously inform you that these deaths are not related to our business and did not occur in regions under our power. We are looking into these instances ‘ specifics and will immediately release details as soon as we have verified the information,” it said.  ,
The ULA declaration therefore issued five warnings to civilians to prevent the MAF and Rohingya armed groups and consider safety in AA territory, shelter there, and show white flags.
The Global New Light of Myanmar regime propaganda organ reported that “AA terrorists massacred Bengalis, including children, who arranged to flee to other countries due to their attacks at a prawn pond west of Phawyazi village in Maungtaw ( sic ) …Women and girls were raped and killed.” The international community should be aware of the terrorist acts committed by AA terrorists, but they ruthlessly executed Bengalis who had made moves abroad.
The AA’s open relationships department got into high gear. The AA released images and video of Rohingya men carrying children and other citizens out of harm’s way in dress. According to a ULA/AA standard video, 500 Rohingya were reported to have been evacuated by ship from Kyar Yin Tan town on August 8 after being allegedly used by the MAF as human shields.
The AA’s statements of providing human assistance are incredibly difficult to freely verify. It is possible for AA forces to have multiple experiences operating simultaneously, allowing them to commit atrocities in one place and assist civilians somewhere. However, it is important to keep in mind that the MAF are committing crimes against several areas in the same way throughout Myanmar.
Since April, when the issue reached Buthidaung, due west of Maungdaw, the complaints of the AA targeting citizens have significantly increased tensions. Studies of Rohingya and SAC causes burning down Myanmar sections of Buthidaung emerged as the AA advanced in the town and reportedly staged arson attacks on remote Rohingya villages.
A fortnight later, as AA forces entered the village in mid-May, there were several reports of Rohingya forces burning down Rohingya neighborhoods, perhaps as retaliation for the April arson.
There was a lot of confusing and contradictory reporting, which was exacerbated by the lack of access for many Myanmar and international reporters who rely on frequently traumatized eyewitness accounts of people who have reached Bangladesh.
The deaths of a Médecins Sans Frontières ( MSF ) office and pharmacy in Buthidaung in mid-April and the theft and arson at a World Food Programme ( WFP ) warehouse in Maungdaw in late June have heightened the controversies.
Human Rights Watch ( HRW) conducted the most accurate reconstruction of the events in the Buthidaung area on August 12 through extensive interviews with both Rohingya and Rakhine sources. HRW attributes blame on both the AA and SAC troops for their Rohingya auxiliaries.
However, the HRW report’s accompanying satellite imagery is of such poor quality that it is inconclusive. Much of the “digital evidence” used in “remote control” rights reporting from Rakhine state since the 2021 coup has been of uneven quality, demonstrating the limitations of open source intelligence.
The AA is very sensitive to criticism from other countries. Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, called the situation “alarming” and “anger” for the country’s civilians on April 19 in an “alarm” statement. The AA, who responded in great detail and obvious umbrage to many of his points in a four-page rebuttal, raised the ire of the AA.
The statements” could cause disrespectful impressions of Arakanese among the international community and cause confusion and suspicions between the Muslim and non-Muslim communities.” In fact, making such a false claim actually harms the idea that we have a national movement and struggle.
In a statement from the UN in June, Türk did mention the massacre of more than 50 Rohingya civilians in the village of Byine Phyu north of Sittwe as well as reports of sexual violence committed by a joint force of MAF, Arakan Liberation Army ( ALA ) troops, and Rohingya recruits.
The international community’s perception of bias is that the majority of Rakhine grievances are centered solely on the plight of the Rohingya.
How likely is it that the August 5 incident’s perpetrators will be found out as to be completely responsible? It has always been very difficult to find information on deadly incidents in Rakhine state. This is true of all Myanmar’s conflict zones, in Shan, Kachin, and Karen states, as well as in “new” post-coup battlefields in Sagaing and Magwe.
Yet since at least the communal violence of 2012, Rakhine has been personally perplexed by fabricated information and false reports. One of the challenges of reporting on violence against civilians is the notoriously distorted Du Chee Yar Tan incident from early 2014, which is just one more illustration of this.
After being ruled out by the UN and Western rights organizations, an alleged massacre in a village close to Maungdaw was ultimately ruled to be largely false, leading to significant aftershocks in relations between the then-Thein Sein administration and the UN and Western embassy.
Although it is obvious that the MAF was to blame for the massive ethnic cleansing marches against the Rohingya in October 2016 and August 2017 that displaced over 700,000 people from Bangladesh, some of the details of the horrifying events cannot be verified.
The AA slowly expanded insurgent operations into Rakhine state in 2018 as a new, even more perplexing phase of the conflict. Six years of intense fighting has displaced over 300, 000 civilians and seen multiple war crimes perpetrated by the MAF on Rakhine communities, as well as Rohingya, ethnic Mro, Daignet and Chin civilians.
Additionally, the AA has been linked to numerous crimes committed against civilians. For many years, doubts have grown to a new dangerous level because of its stated commitment to protecting all civilians equally.
Some of AA commander Major General Twan Mrat Naing’s Twitter/X commentary has been ugly racism that has n’t served the ULA/AA’s cause.
The group can then produce more politically correct messaging, as they did in May when they responded to The New Humanitarian with a carefully worded statement about recent human rights violations and intercommunal relations.
Although the AA claims that it protects all of Rakhine’s residents ‘ human rights and citizenship are admirable, its level of confidence is regrettable. The onus is on the ULA/AA to ensure they abide by their principles.
However, it is crucial to establish fact-based reporting on allegations of atrocities by all conflict-related parties. Multiple competing viewpoints on violent events can obstruct peace for all communities to coexist, known as the” Rashomon Effect.” This has been a vehement reality in Rakhine for more than ten years.
Civilian protection, humanitarian assistance and aid to the war wounded must be prioritized. The ULA/AA will almost certainly be the main source of future peace, aid to development, and trade in Rakhine, which makes it crucial to gather the facts about war crimes for future and lasting stability.
David Scott Mathieson is an independent analyst who studies human rights, conflict, and human rights issues in Myanmar.