Last week, more than 200 Rohingya, including children, were killed in Myanmar while attempting to flee to Bangladesh, targeted by artillery and drone attacks. On Tuesday, The Guardian published a report on this massacre.
According to the report, on August 5, a group of Rohingya was attempting to cross the Naf River into Bangladesh to escape the violence in the town of Maungdaw in Rakhine State. It was during this escape attempt that they were targeted. Several videos shared on social media show bodies and their belongings scattered around.
Nay San Lwin, co-founder of the Free Rohingya Coalition, spoke with some survivors of the incident. He mentioned that the victims were trying to cross the border from several nearby villages, including Maung Ni, Myoma Taung, and Myoma Kain Dan. The drone attacks began around 5 PM on the day they were fleeing.
Nay San Lwin said, “They told me that at least over 200 people were killed and around 300 were injured. There’s no one to collect the bodies. Everyone is running for their lives. Some have managed to enter Bangladesh.”
Some survivors told news agency Reuters that they estimate the death toll at over 200. However, one of the survivors told the Associated Press that he estimates over 150 people were killed, with many more injured.
The Arakan Army is one of the armed groups seeking to overthrow Myanmar’s junta government. In recent months, they have captured vast areas of Rakhine State from the military.
The massacre of the Rohingya group has led to both the militia and Myanmar’s military blaming each other. However, activists believe that the Arakan Army is responsible for this incident, although the group has denied the allegations.
Human rights activists have reported that for the past few months, the Arakan Army has been targeting and killing Rohingya, setting their villages on fire, and forcibly recruiting young men into their forces.
A witness to the attack named Rahim told The Guardian that the drones came from a village under the control of the Arakan Army and attacked the civilians.
Rahim’s family escaped the violence as they were hiding in a nearby village. Later, they arranged for a boat and crossed into Bangladesh with his family at 4 AM on Tuesday, August 6. He said, “We decided that we couldn’t stay in the country. We would be killed. So we took a boat and crossed the border that morning. Dead bodies were everywhere. No one could go to help the injured.”
Rahim added, “When we were passing through the area, some people were still alive. But there was no one to help them. I can still hear a voice. Someone was saying—I’m not dead yet. Please help me.”
He said, “But no one went to help them because everyone was running to save their own lives.”
Those who survived were desperately waiting for boats to escape. Rahim mentioned that a friend of his tried to escape on a small boat, but it sank due to overcrowding, resulting in the death of his five children.
