Image source: ungeneva
Myanmar is targeting ethnic minorities, while international reports highlight “alarming” crimes against civilians.
An international report has warned that the rate of crimes committed by the military in Myanmar is “alarmingly” rising across the country.
In its annual report published on August 13, 2024, the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights Violations in Myanmar, covering the period from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, gathered extensive evidence of violent war crimes. These include the targeting of civilian gatherings where no clear military objective was present, and cases of physical mutilation of detainees during armed conflict, among other violations.
The report’s investigators described the conflict between Myanmar’s military junta and opposition forces as brutal, holding both sides responsible for international crimes. They noted that the military’s crimes appeared intended to “spread terror and punish civilians.”
The head of the commission, Nicholas Kumjian, called for an end to the violence, emphasizing that failing to hold anyone accountable emboldens perpetrators and deepens the culture of impunity in Myanmar.
On August 12, 2024, Human Rights Watch confirmed that both the military and opposition forces in Myanmar are targeting ethnic minorities in the western state of Rakhine.
Amnesty International reported that Myanmar’s junta forces and the opposition Arakan Army have committed “extrajudicial” killings—defined as killings carried out by government authorities or individuals without prior judicial approval or legal process—and widespread arson of Rohingya, Rakhine, and other civilians in Rakhine State in recent months.
The military’s illegal recruitment of Rohingya men and boys has further fueled sectarian tensions between the Rohingya Muslim and Buddhist communities.
Elaine Pearson, Asia Director at Human Rights Watch, stated that civilians—both Rohingya and Rakhine—bear the brunt of atrocities committed by Myanmar’s military and the opposition Arakan Army. She stressed that both sides employ hate speech, attacks on civilians, and arson to drive people from their homes and villages, raising the potential for “ethnic cleansing.”
The Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group from Rakhine State established in 2009, has engaged in periodic heavy fighting with the military for control of the region since late 2018. Hostilities between junta forces and the Arakan Army escalated in mid-November 2023, ending a year-long informal ceasefire.
As the Arakan Army rapidly expanded its control across Rakhine State, the military responded with indiscriminate attacks using helicopter gunships, artillery, and ground forces. From November 2023 to July 2024, junta forces conducted more than 1,100 airstrikes across the country, with over a fifth of them occurring in Rakhine State, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED).
In late April 2024, the Arakan Army began burning Rohingya villages east of Buthidaung Township. Satellite imagery and thermal anomaly data analyzed by Human Rights Watch revealed that over 40 villages and smaller settlements in Buthidaung Township were partially or completely destroyed by fire between April 24 and May 21, 2024. The fires destroyed thousands of buildings, including those in predominantly Rohingya areas in the town center. Human Rights Watch concluded that the pattern of destruction indicates these attacks were deliberate.
Since August 5, 2024, reports on social and local media have claimed that the Arakan Army has attacked villages near Myanmar’s border with Bangladesh. Images have surfaced showing deaths along the Naf River—reportedly about 200 people killed, according to unconfirmed CNN reports—and there are accounts of sexual violence, house burnings, and the displacement of thousands of civilians.
The targeting of ethnic minorities in Myanmar due to their religion violates international law. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious, and Linguistic Minorities outlines a range of rights, including the right to enjoy their own culture, practice their religion, and use their language.
International justice organizations emphasize the need to protect national and religious minorities from civil, political, economic, and cultural violations stemming from discrimination, racism, and exclusion. They also stress the importance of safeguarding those at risk of enforced disappearance, which constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law.
