By: Hafizur Rahman
Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh – July 25, 2025
International human rights organization Fortify Rights has called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to launch a formal investigation into alleged war crimes committed by the Arakan Army (AA) against Rohingya civilians in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.
The appeal follows a newly released Fortify Rights report documenting widespread human rights violations—including abductions, torture, extrajudicial killings, and beheadings—allegedly carried out by AA forces in villages and detention centers under their control.
“The Arakan Army is responsible for widespread abductions, brutal torture, and the murder of Rohingya—some of whom were found beheaded,” said Ejaz Min Khant, Human Rights Specialist at Fortify Rights. “The ICC has jurisdiction and should investigate and prosecute those responsible.”
Since the resurgence of conflict between the AA and the Myanmar military in November 2023, more than 200,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh. Many survivors have reported targeted violence, forced displacement, and organized brutality committed by AA troops, who now reportedly control nearly 90 percent of Rakhine State.
Between April and July 2025, Fortify Rights interviewed 39 Rohingya survivors, including eight women,লdetailing acts of violence during 2024 and 2025. The organization also verified photographic and video evidence of multiple killings, at least five beheadings, and torture in makeshift detention facilities.
Most victims were arrested after being falsely accused of supporting Rohingya armed groups or for refusing to follow AA orders. The report highlights several flashpoints, including:
- A massacre near the Naf River in Maungdaw in August 2024
- An arson attack in May 2024 that destroyed dozens of Rohingya homes
- Abuse and execution of detainees, including minors
Although the AA has denied many allegations, in a rare admission in January 2025, it acknowledged that its forces tortured and executed two prisoners of war—an act considered a war crime under international humanitarian law.
Fortify Rights is urging the ICC’s Chief Prosecutor to expand its ongoing investigation into the broader Rohingya crisis to include crimes committed by the Arakan Army, not just those perpetrated by the Myanmar military.
“If the Arakan Army wants to be seen as a legitimate revolutionary force, it must abide by international law,” said Khant. “Torture, beheadings, and mass displacement are war crimes—not acts of liberation.”
A Call for International Accountability
This report marks one of the most detailed public efforts to document and pursue justice for Rohingya victims of non-state actors, particularly the AA—whose growing territorial control has been accompanied by increasing reports of repression and ethnic violence.
While global attention has largely focused on the Myanmar military’s genocidal campaign in 2017, Rohingya survivors say the new wave of abuse under AA rule is equally terrifying.
“They promised to protect civilians, but instead they are persecuting us all over again,” said a survivor now in a refugee camp in Teknaf.
Fortify Rights’ findings aim to shift international focus toward new layers of accountability, calling for urgent legal action and protection mechanisms before further atrocities unfold.
