AA chief invites UN special rapporteur to investigate alleged Muslim massacre in Buthidaung Twsp

By Admin 21 Oct 2025

DMG Newsroom

21 October 2025, Buthidaung
 
Arakan Army (AA) chief Maj-Gen Twan Mrat Naing has invited Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, to visit Arakan State in order to investigate allegations of mass killings of Muslims in Buthidaung Township’s Htan Shauk Khan Village.
  
The incident in Htan Shauk Khan Village was described in a report by Andrews submitted to the UN General Assembly on October 20, and has been the subject of significant dispute.
 
“I think it will be better that the Arakan Army chief has invited Tom Andrews to come and investigate the situation in Arakan State. Rather than worrying about it from afar, the UN rapporteur will clear up the issues and doubts when they actually arrive on the ground. We should see that the villagers of Htan Shauk Khan have resolved it themselves,” said a young resident in Buthidaung.
 
The UN rapporteur’s report has also called on the Arakan Army to publicly affirm the fundamental human rights of all people in Arakan State, including Muslims, and to refrain from committing human rights violations against Muslim civilians. It also calls for the lifting of travel and livelihood restrictions, accountability for crimes committed, dialogue with Muslim leaders, and an independent and credible investigation.
 
Andrews also stated in the report that the Arakan Army has been contacted and accused of human rights violations in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships, but the Arakan Army has denied it.
 
“In fact, when it comes to Arakan State the UN is following the false propaganda of Muslims living abroad and does not know what is really happening on the ground,” said another Buthidaung resident. “The incident in Htan Shauk Khan Village was resolved by the village head and a junta commander themselves. So, it would be better if UN officials came to the ground.”
 
More than 100 military-trained Muslim recruits and junta soldiers were killed during a clash between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army near Htan Shauk Khan Village on May 2, 2024, according to the former deputy commander of the junta’s Military Operations Command No. 15 in Buthidaung, who was captured by the AA as a prisoner of war.
 
Muslim activists in exile have accused the Arakan Army of killing more than 600 Muslims in Htan Shauk Khan Village.
 
The UN report states that approximately 150,000 Muslims fled to refugee camps in Bangladesh in 2024 and 2025 due to ongoing fighting between the Arakan Army and the Myanmar military, as well as Muslim armed groups, in Arakan State.
 
The report also notes that the military regime’s airstrikes have resulted in civilian casualties in Arakan State, and that junta troops and Muslim armed groups are forcibly recruiting young Muslim men to fight against the Arakan Army.
 
The report also states that the military regime is supporting Muslim armed groups from behind the scenes in their attacks on the Arakan Army and committing violence against Muslim civilians in refugee camps. It also states that Muslim armed groups such as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army and the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation have burned down hundreds of Arakan civilian homes and killed civilians.