Narinjara News, February 11,2023

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

According to the lists surveyed by Narinjara, 46 civilianswere killed, 89 were injured, and9 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 firedby the Military Council.  OnAugust 28th, 2022, 3 residents including Maung Myat Thu Lin (5) from Kin Sate village were killed and 9 people werewounded by shelling conducted by the 377th and 540th Light Infantry Divisions of the Military Council based inMrauk-U.

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

During those 4 months, the Military Council fired small armsand artillery arbitrarily into residentialareas in Ponnagyun, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Minbya, Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung townships, where therewas no combat at all, resulting in the death and injury of civilians and livestock, and the destruction ofhouses.

Furthermore, around noon on November 16th, an artilleryshell fired by the Kan Sauk- basedMilitary Council’s539th Battalion landed directly in Chaung Tu village, hitting people sitting on the eaves of ahouse. In that incident, 3 men over the age of 50 died on the spot and 4 others were seriouslyinjured.

“When the shells started falling, I was stunned and didn’trun away at once. Within a fewmoments, people were dead. I had no chance to bury my dead husband. Atthat time, shells were fallinginto the village one by one continuously. My daughter insisted that she would not run away and carryher father’sbody. But I was afraid that we wouldboth die too, so I took my daughterand 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 deliberatelyshelling Chaung Tu village. She addedthat since her husband, whom she depended on, had died, she no longer dared to return to the village and had nodesire to return.

“In previous battles, artillery shells had never fallen intothe village. In this case, the bombardmentwas deliberately aimed at the village. When people died suddenly, the entire village fled in fear. Ourfamily is dependent on my husband. Now we are helpless. I don’twant 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 thePonnagyun-based 550th Light InfantryBattalion invaded Sin Inn Gyi village and torched 9 houses. They also shotand killed 9 people including a92-year-old woman who could not run away.

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

“There are no words to describe the devastated feeling of losingboth parents. When parents die,the lives of the children left behind are completely messed up. There is no apology from the perpetrators. We donot expect any apology from those who brutally destroy human lives”, he said.

Until now the Military Council has not acknowledged or takenresponsibility for the humanrights violations and war crimes committed during the revived period offighting in Rakhine State, U MyatTun, Director of the Arakan Human Rights Defenders and Promoters Association, told Narinjara.

“The Military Council committed deliberate killings andarson. However, I have never heardthat they took any responsibility for burning houses, and nor have they paid compensation. They didn’t pay compensation for thedeaths either. They have never acknowledgedtheir human rights abuses, and have continued to commit war crimes.Our Arakan Human Rights Defenders and Promoters Associationinterviewed the victims and postedthe contents on social media,” he said.

He suggested ´The Military Council can atone for the humanrights violations and war crimesthey committed , by providing assistance such as rebuilding homes for those who suffered various losses during thefighting, and providing compensation to thefamilies of the deceased.”

“They should rebuild the homes that were lost in arsonattacks. And since the deaths werenot caused accidently, but by deliberate shootings and bombardments ,compensation should be paid to thefamilies of the victims. Only by implementing such plans may they atone their human rights violations and warcrimes”,  he added.

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

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

After four months of resurgent fighting between AA and theMilitary Council, a ceasefire agreementwas reached with the intervention of the chairman of Nippon Foundation Yohei Sasakawa at the end of Novemberlast year.

An agreement was reached to cease fire. Although aninformal ceasefire was held to sympathizewith the humanitarian crises faced by the Rakhine people, those who suffered during the conflict have notbeen able to get justice until now.

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