Myanmar: a massacre of the Rohingya population exposes the impunity of armed actors

Human Rights Watch reported that at least 170 civilians were killed in the village of Hoyyar Siri. While the survivors remain displaced, organizations are calling for international justice.

The human rights organization documented a massacre perpetrated by the Arakan Army against the Rohingya Muslim population in the village of Hoyyar Siri, Myanmar, on May 2, 2024. In a report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) recorded how the armed forces attacked unarmed civilians who were trying to flee the conflict, an attack in which at least 170 people were killed, among them many children.

Through survivor testimonies and satellite imagery, HRW documented the total destruction of the village and the subsequent obstruction of justice by the perpetrators. At the same time, it denounced serious war crimes, such as summary executions, looting and arson, committed by both the rebel army and Myanmar’s military junta.

According to the text, the Hoyyar Siri massacre had a catastrophic and lasting impact on the Rohingya community, causing a massive loss of life with at least 170 confirmed deaths, including some 90 children, although local estimates suggest the real figure could be as high as 500 people.

The document also reports that the attack caused the near-total destruction of the village, leaving more than 170 structures reduced to ashes and turning the home of hundreds of families into an uninhabitable place due to the presence of landmines and the control of the Arakan Army.

As a consequence, many of the survivors of the massacre have been confined in the Nassawr Para camp, described by human rights organizations as a “death trap” where they endure constant surveillance, severe shortages of food and water, a lack of medical care, and are subjected to unpaid forced labor.

Meanwhile, the social impact is compounded by reports of abductions of women and girls, torture of men with electric shocks, and coercion to provide false testimony to whitewash the image of the perpetrators. Those who managed to escape to Bangladesh or Malaysia, for their part, live in extreme poverty, struggling with crushing debts and deep psychological trauma after having witnessed the execution of their loved ones.

No justice

HRW denounced that to date, no formal accountability measures have been taken against those responsible for the Hoyyar Siri massacre, and both the Arakan Army and Myanmar’s military junta continue to operate with impunity.

For their part, the United League of Arakan and its armed wing have categorically denied killing civilians, claiming they adhered to the laws of war, and have even coerced survivors into giving false video testimonies absolving them of responsibility. The military junta has also faced no specific consequences for its failure to protect civilians or for the forced conscription of Rohingya before the attack.

Meanwhile, at the international level, although the International Criminal Court has requested an arrest warrant against the junta’s leader, Min Aung Hlaing, for crimes committed in 2017, and there is an ongoing genocide case before the International Court of Justice, these proceedings have not yet led to direct justice for the events of 2024.

Human rights organizations also assert that Arakan Army commanders could be criminally liable for war crimes under the principle of command responsibility, and they are calling on the UN Security Council to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court to ensure independent investigations and fair prosecutions.

In the report, Human Rights Watch recommends a series of urgent actions aimed at the various actors involved and at the international community to address the atrocities committed.

First, the Arakan Army is called on to adhere strictly to international humanitarian law, dismantle the Nassawr Para camp allowing the voluntary return of survivors to Hoyyar Siri, end forced labor and cooperate fully with independent investigations, facilitating access for bodies such as the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM).

As for the Myanmar military, the organization calls on it to stop the unlawful conscription of the Rohingya population and to impartially investigate and prosecute those responsible for war crimes.

HRW does not absolve the international community of responsibility for the attack; on the contrary. In its document, it urges the entire international community, including China, India and ASEAN, to financially support the investigations, while calling on the UN Security Council to impose a global arms embargo, apply targeted sanctions against the leaders implicated in abuses and formally refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court.