Arakan American Community condemns report alleging AA war crimes

By Admin 24 Jul 2025

DMG Newsroom

24 July 2025, Sittwe

The Arakan American Community (AAC) has claimed that a Fortify Rights report released on July 23 and alleging that the Arakan Army (AA) committed war crimes against Muslims during the fighting in Arakan State is false and fabricated.

The AAC issued a statement on Thursday condemning what it described as discrepancies with data on the ground in the Fortify Rights report.

AAC said that the allegations against the Arakan Army in the report were based solely on interviews with people who had accused the AA of atrocities.

"Fortify Rights' inaccurate data is dangerous," said U Saw Wai Zan, chairman of the AAC. "Especially when the fighting is at its peak, data misinformation can escalate the conflict. Fortify Rights, as a human rights organisation, must be careful. The fact that Fortify Rights made a statement about the AA capturing Buthidaung town during Operation 1027 is a deliberate act. This is a deliberate attempt to sabotage the people's hopes for victory, and AAC strongly condemns Fortify Rights' report."

The AAC statement said that Fortify Rights' accusations are a negative portrayal of the Arakan Army, which is leading the fight against the military dictatorship, and constitute an attempt to hinder freedom and democracy for Myanmar's people.

Fortify Rights alleges that the Arakan Army has committed war crimes against Muslims, including abductions, torture, and killings, and is urging the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate them.

"The fact that Myanmar is not a member of the ICC and cannot be prosecuted directly is one reason why the AA cannot be prosecuted. Fortify Rights' complaint is also a directive. There is no evidence that the AA, which enjoys public support and is also fighting against the military dictatorship, has committed violence against the public. Fortify Rights' sources of information are unreliable, so the ICC cannot take action against the AA," U Saw Wai Zan said.

The Fortify Rights report alleges that the AA has blatantly violated international law in Muslim villages and at temporary detention camps.

A young human rights activist said that international human rights organisations should try to take action against the military regime, which is committing human rights violations across the country, rather than monitoring and leveling accusations against anti-junta forces.

"At this time, if you ask anyone, they will only answer that the military is killing and bombing people all over the country. Fortify Rights is targeting the revolutionary forces and scrutinising them without any justification, because there must be some hidden benefit. Human rights groups are only doing this to get the military regime to take action," the human rights activist added.

The Arakan Army has categorically denied Fortify Rights' allegations. The AA responded by saying the accusations were aimed at damaging the reputation of the Arakan Army and were a tactic by some Islamist extremists to exploit human rights issues for political gain.