Hundreds of civilians massacred in Arakan State, three regions in six months: think tank

By Admin 19 Aug 2024

DMG Newsroom
19 August 2024, Sittwe

At least 359 civilians were killed in massacres in Arakan State and Mandalay, Sagaing and Magway regions in the six months from January through June, according to the latest report from the Institute for Strategy and Policy Myanmar (ISP-Myanmar).

The recorded massacres included air raids, artillery strikes, arson attacks, and detention and slaughter, ISP-Myanmar said in a report on August 16.

“People were massacred at night when people were sleeping, when they were taking refuge in religious buildings, and when they were having meetings,” the ISP-Myanmar report added.

The civilian fatality toll is rising month by month as the regime, which is losing ground militarily daily, continues to carry out attacks on civilian targets.

The regime’s attacks on civilian areas can and have killed many people, sometimes in the blink of an eye, leaving civilian populations feeling insecure psychologically and physically.

“We don’t know where the regime will shoot. When we heard the sound of the jet fighters, we went into the bomb shelter and it was full of water because it was the rainy season. We have nowhere to flee. We don’t know when we will be hit by airstrikes,” said a local woman in Arakan State’s Taungup Township.

ISP-Myanmar said that the mass killings during Myanmar’s armed conflict constitute war crimes and violations under international humanitarian and human rights law.

Human rights groups say people are living caught in the middle of an intense armed conflict, and that the targeting of civilians is a deplorable act.

“Such events need to be closely monitored by the international community and effective action taken. When the international community looks at the Myanmar conflict, it needs to be balanced, not just on one ethnic group,” said a women's rights activist in Arakan State.

At least 1,224 civilians were massacred from February 1, 2021, to July 22, 2023, according to figures from the Institute for Strategy and Policy Myanmar (ISP-Myanmar).