AA questions UN rights chief’s remarks on Arakan 

By Admin 26 Aug 2024

DMG Newsroom
26 August 2024, Sittwe

The Arakkha Army (AA) has questioned the statements of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights regarding the situation in Arakan State.

In statements by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, the Myanmar military, Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO), Arakan Rohingya Army (ARA) and military-trained armed Muslim men are described as arresting, killing, kidnapping, and robbing the people of Arakan State. 

The AA criticised that it did not include crimes such as arbitrary arrests, extortion, sexual abuse of women, rape, and the arrest of local people for use as human shields.

“Regarding the remarks made by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, we have many questions about his fairness and impartiality. These one-sided actions have greatly reduced the trust of the Arakanese people in the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,” said U Khaing Thukha, spokesman for the AA.

In a statement on August 23, Türk said that tens of thousands of people, which included a substantial number of Musims, had fled a major offensive of the AA over the past four months.

Dozens of people were also killed on August 5 in an attack along the Naf River, which is located close to the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, the statement added.

Türk said that thousands of Muslims were forced to flee on foot and relocated to dangerous locations by the AA.

The military and the Arakan Army, which now controls most of the townships in Arakan, have committed serious human rights violations and abuses against Muslims, including extrajudicial killings, some involving beheadings, abductions, forced recruitment, indiscriminate bombardments of towns and villages using drones and artillery, and arson attacks, the statement reads.

“Both the military and the Arakan Army bear direct responsibility for the human tragedy that is unfolding in Rakhine [Arakan State],” said Turk. “Both parties must immediately cease attacks against civilians, protect those fleeing the conflict, and ensure their unimpeded access to life-saving humanitarian assistance.”

The UN has also called for guarantees to provide humanitarian aid to those displaced.

The AA will soon be in full control of Maungdaw, Arakan State, the ethnic armed group said in a statement on August 24.

The AA has reportedly evacuated tens of thousands of people who were arrested as human shields in Maungdaw and nearby villages and is providing humanitarian aid to the evacuees.