Justice still far away for 46 civilians killed during 4-month-long resurged conflicts in Rakhine State

Narinjara News, February 11, 2023

After fierce fighting between the Arakan Army and the Military Council in Rakhine State for about 4 months, a limited ceasefire has now been reached, but justice has yet to be delivered for the 46 civilians who died in the conflicts, victims’ families said.

According to the lists surveyed by Narinjara, 46 civilians were killed, 89 were injured, and 9 houses were set on fire during 4-month-long conflicts from early August to November of last year.

The main cause of civilian casualties was the ordnance fired by the Military Council.  On August 28th, 2022, 3 residents including Maung Myat Thu Lin (5) from Kin Sate village were killed and 9 people were wounded by shelling conducted by the 377th and 540th Light Infantry Divisions of the Military Council based in Mrauk-U.

Despite civilians being killed or injured by their shelling, the Military Council never took any responsibility for such incidents nor offered any humane apologies, A Kin Sate village elder accused.

During those 4 months, the Military Council fired small arms and artillery arbitrarily into residential areas in Ponnagyun, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Minbya, Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung townships, where there was no combat at all, resulting in the death and injury of civilians and livestock, and the destruction of houses.

Furthermore, around noon on November 16th, an artillery shell fired by the Kan Sauk- based Military Council’s 539th Battalion landed directly in Chaung Tu village, hitting people sitting on the eaves of a house. In that incident, 3 men over the age of 50 died on the spot and 4 others were seriously injured.

“When the shells started falling, I was stunned and didn’t run away at once. Within a few moments, people were dead. I had no chance to bury my dead husband. At that time, shells were falling into the village one by one continuously. My daughter insisted that she would not run away and carry her father’s body. But I was afraid that we would both die too, so I took my daughter and fled to Yoe Tayote village”, said the wife of U Aung Gyi Maung, who was killed by an artillery shell.

She also accused the Military Council of deliberately shelling Chaung Tu village. She added that since her husband, whom she depended on, had died, she no longer dared to return to the village and had no desire to return.

“In previous battles, artillery shells had never fallen into the village. In this case, the bombardment was deliberately aimed at the village. When people died suddenly, the entire village fled in fear. Our family is dependent on my husband. Now we are helpless. I don’t want anyone to face a tragedy like ours. I was too scared to even look back to the village”, she said.

On the evening of November 10th, soldiers from the Ponnagyun-based 550th Light Infantry Battalion invaded Sin Inn Gyi village and torched 9 houses. They also shot and killed 9 people including a 92-year-old woman who could not run away.

Because both parents were shot dead in the incident, the surviving children from a family were facing difficult challenges for survival, a remaining family member said.

“There are no words to describe the devastated feeling of losing both parents. When parents die, the lives of the children left behind are completely messed up. There is no apology from the perpetrators. We do not expect any apology from those who brutally destroy human lives”, he said.

Until now the Military Council has not acknowledged or taken responsibility for the human rights violations and war crimes committed during the revived period of fighting in Rakhine State, U Myat Tun, Director of the Arakan Human Rights Defenders and Promoters Association, told Narinjara.

“The Military Council committed deliberate killings and arson. However, I have never heard that they took any responsibility for burning houses, and nor have they paid compensation. They didn’t pay compensation for the deaths either. They have never acknowledged their human rights abuses, and have continued to commit war crimes.Our Arakan Human Rights Defenders and Promoters Association interviewed the victims and posted the contents on social media,” he said.

He suggested ´The Military Council can atone for the human rights violations and war crimes they committed , by providing assistance such as rebuilding homes for those who suffered various losses during the fighting, and providing compensation to the families of the deceased.”

“They should rebuild the homes that were lost in arson attacks. And since the deaths were not caused accidently, but by deliberate shootings and bombardments ,compensation should be paid to the families of the victims. Only by implementing such plans may they atone their human rights violations and war crimes”,  he added.

During the 4-month-long resurgence of fighting in Rakhine State, the Military Council’s bombardments targeting the residential villages caused mass civilian casualties on some occasions.

On the morning of November 16th, 13 people were killed and at least 22 were injured when an artillery shell launched by the Military Council exploded, while a child’s ear- piercing ceremony was being held in Jeitchaung village, where most of the Mro people live in Maungdaw Township.

After four months of resurgent fighting between AA and the Military Council, a ceasefire agreement was reached with the intervention of the chairman of Nippon Foundation Yohei Sasakawa at the end of November last year.

An agreement was reached to cease fire. Although an informal ceasefire was held to sympathize with the humanitarian crises faced by the Rakhine people, those who suffered during the conflict have not been able to get justice until now.

Although an informal ceasefire was held to sympathize with the humanitarian crises faced by the Rakhine people, those who suffered during the conflict have not yet received the justice they deserve until now.