Immediate Release
October 10, 2022

The European Rohingya Council (ERC) condemns Arakan Army (AA) in the strongest terms for its atrocious crimes perpetrated against the Rohingya population in northern Arakan State of Myanmar. We also express our concerns on safety and security of the remaining Rohingya population in Arakan State where clashes between Myanmar Military and Arakan Army intensify.

Since the fighting broke out between the military and the Rakhine insurgent group in August 2022, the Rohingya population is on the edge as both groups deliberately choose Rohingya villages in Buthidaung township as the battlegrounds.

Hundreds of Rohingya civilians are either trapped in their villages or forced to flee to nearby villagers as both the military and Arakan Army shelled the villages in the presence of civilians. The fighting has also left between 800 and 900 Rohingya families stranded in Dhangkhali at the Myanmar-Bangladesh border after fleeing their villages. The Rohingya civilians trapped in villages and stranded at the borders are at high risk of hunger as Myanmar Military continues to place blockages in the northern Arakan.

Moreover, land mines are being planted around the Rohingya villages and farms, causing injuries to Rohingya civilians.

Over a dozen of Rohingya civilians including women and children have been injured in open firing at the civilians since the fighting broke out.

On October 8, Sheikul Islam, a 48-year-old highly educated Rohingya teacher was shot death by Arakan Army’s sniper after he went to feed his animals at his house in Gu Dar Pyin, Buthidaung.

Besides widespread arbitrary arrests, abductions and extortions, there are serious allegations and crimes of sexual abuses and rapes that Arakan Army has committed against Rohingya women and girls before and after the fighting erupted between the two armed groups.

The conducts of Arakan Army are not dissimilar to those of Myanmar Military, which amount to crimes against humanity.

It is also a clear violation of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) that sets out the responsibilities of the state and non-state armed groups during the armed clash. Arakan Army violates the responsibilities by its deliberate actions while Myanmar Military continues to fail to protect the Rohingya civilians through provisional measures set out by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The European Rohingya Council condemns both Arakan Army and Myanmar Military for their crimes against the remaining Rohingya population and calls on the international community to take preventive measures to protect the population in Arakan State.

The European Rohingya Council also closely monitors and documents every crime that Arakan Army perpetrates against the Rohingya population in Arakan State.

For more information:

The European Rohingya Council
[email protected]

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