Sevier · Rahman was awakened by screams. In the darkness, the stench of fuel filled the air, and flames burned in the distance.
The town of Budidang in Myanmar's Rakhine State, the largest Rohingya ethnic minority settlement in Myanmar, caught fire and was attacked.
"All I could see was fire". The 30-year-old Rohingya said, "We knew something bad could happen, but we never imagined it. ”
When the fires subsided, much of the riverside town near Myanmar's western border with Bangladesh was burning in rubble, leaving thousands of Rohingya homeless. A senior U.N. official said the tentative estimate was that at least 45 Rohingya had died in the attack.
The May 10 p.m. attack was the latest in many violent incidents against the Rohingya, Myanmar's predominantly Muslim minority, who suffered what the United Nations called "textbook ethnic cleansing" in 2017 at the hands of Buddhist-majority national forces.
That year, the military spearheaded the killing of about 10,000 Rohingya, and more than 700,000 fled to neighboring Bangladesh, according to the United Nations. Since then, fighting has erupted between junta forces and the powerful Arakan Army ethnic militia in Rakhine State, intensifying in recent months as the rebels have won major victories.
The media interviewed 12 Budidang residents by phone, as well as residents near the Bangladeshi refugee camp, and reviewed satellite imagery of the area taken before and after the fire to reconstruct the events of 17 May. Journalists found that it was not the military that was directly responsible for the May arson attack, but the Arakan Army, which is mainly made up of Rakhine people, who are mostly Buddhists in Rakhine State.
Like many other ethnic armies in the country, the Arakan Army, commonly known as AA, has been engaged in a brutal civil war with the junta since the 2021 coup overthrew Myanmar's civilian government. Founded in 2009, the Arakan Army has long struggled with the Burmese government for the "liberation" of Rakhine State and the creation of an autonomous enclave.
James · Rod Havel, head of the UN Human Rights Office in Myanmar, told the media that "every indication" in interviews with residents indicated that the Arakan Army was responsible. He said residents described Arakanese army soldiers holding sticks soaked in gasoline and setting fire to buildings, when there were no other potential "criminals" like the junta in the area.
His remarks were the first time that the United Nations had expressed responsibility for the fire. Their research is ongoing, he said.
The U.N. findings contradict comments made on May 19 by Rakhine State Army spokeswoman Khine Thu Kha that Budidang was burned down as a result of military junta airstrikes before militias took over the town.
Rod Javier told the media that there was "no indication" that the airstrikes caused the fires, and there were no reports of large explosions that would normally indicate such attacks.
Nathan Ruser, an analyst at the Australia Strategic Policy Institute's think tank, reviewed the images of Budidang provided by the satellite company before and after ·the fire and said the images were fully consistent with the arson attacks on the ground by the Arakan army in northern Rakhine state, which he closely studied.
"But without a field investigation, it is almost impossible to completely rule out the possibility of an air strike [by the junta] on the town," Ruth said. ”。
Faced with the findings, Chintyuka said the allegations were "baseless" and that the rebel group had helped civilians without religious discrimination.
"We, the Arakan army, did not burn anything". "Not a single innocent civilian has died because of our army," he said. ”
In response to questions from the media, Myanmar's Ministry of Information said that the military did not cause communal tensions under Budidang's control and did not set fires to any area of Budidang.
It said the military was a "legally recognized armed group...... carry out disciplined activities aimed at fully protecting and defending our country", and blamed the Arakan army for these incidents, calling its involvement in "terrorism".
International watchdogs such as Amnesty International, as well as the Rohingya militant group, have previously accused the Arakan army of abductions and other abuses. It has consistently denied these allegations.
The investigation also found that the junta forcibly recruited members of the Muslim minority earlier this year to burn down the homes of their neighbors in Rakhine State in Budidang, thus fueling the latest clashes between the state's Rakhine majority and Rohingya. They had previously tried to exterminate the Muslim minority.
Two Rohingya men from Rakhine State told reporters that they were kidnapped and conscripted into the army by the junta this year, and that the junta is facing a severe manpower shortage after major battlefield defeats in the civil war.
Three other former Rohingya residents in Budidang said they saw local Rohingya forcibly recruited and deployed to burn the property of fleeing Rakhine residents.
Some residents spoke on the condition that they could only use part of their names for fear of reprisals.
It was previously reported that Rakhine nationals were involved in the purge of the Rohingya in 2017.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Thomas · Andrews, said the military's strategy of forcibly recruiting "thousands" of Rohingya was aimed at fomenting community divisions.
"For the Rohingya who are oppressed, scapegoated, exploited, trapped between warring parties, this situation is reminiscent of the causes of the genocidal violence of 2016 and 2017," Andrews said. ”。
The violence in Budidang began earlier this year when fighting broke out between Rakhine State army and junta forces near the town. According to five residents and a humanitarian official with knowledge of the situation, many Rakhine locals left in March.
According to the last census held in 2014, the population of the Butidang region was about 55,000 people. According to two Rohingya activists, this does not include the Rohingya, who have lived in Myanmar for generations, but the deposed civilian government and military junta consider them illegal immigrants, numbering more than 100,000.
Budidang's mandatory conscription of the Rohingya dates back to at least March, when Ali, 24, said soldiers broke into his house around midnight.
He said they arrested more than two dozen Rohingya that night, and the soldiers told them that "young people must take up arms and liberate the country from terrorism."
Another Rohingya man from Budidang also said he was drafted by the Rakhine State army to fight the junta.
A 15-year-old Rohingya boy told reporters alone that he was taken from a refugee camp in neighboring Bangladesh in April by a military-aligned Rohingya insurgency group and taken to Rakhine State to fight in "jihad"
Ali said he was taken to a military training camp where he was taught to use weapons. Eight days after the kidnapping, he was ordered to fetch water and managed to escape. After fleeing Myanmar on foot and by boat, he now lives in Bangladesh.
The next month, officers began pressuring Rohingya conscripts in Ali to burn and loot the homes of their Buddhist neighbors, according to three former Budidang residents.
"'These Rakhine people killed your people and burned down your houses in 2017,'" said Sawyed, who lives in the northeastern part of the town, recalling what soldiers said to Rohingya conscripts. "Now, it's time for revenge."
Another witness said: "Community members and elders tried to stop them. ”。“ But they are unstoppable. ”
Satellite imagery taken in mid-April showed large areas south and west of Budidang burned between 13 and 16 April, when Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported that its offices located along the main road through the town were also burned.
The medical charity has not publicly blamed either party for the events that took place on April 15. In a statement to the media, MSF said that due to the escalation of the conflict, the group was forced to suspend its activities in Budidang and that "there are no medical options for the community." ”
According to satellite imagery from the independent research firm Myanmar Data Corporation, about 1,500 buildings in Budidang were burned down during the arson spree in April.
UN expert Andrews told the media that arson attacks on civilian property and humanitarian agencies by both sides "may also constitute crimes under international law" and urged the ICC to investigate so that "all perpetrators, regardless of their affiliation, are held accountable"
The ICC did not respond to a request for comment. In 2019, the court launched an investigation into allegations of crimes against humanity against the Rohingya, but the investigation was limited to at least one crime committed inside Bangladesh.
Aung Chay, a 27-year-old Rakhine teacher from Budidang whose house was burned down, said he and the Rohingya lived peacefully.
But then, "they joined the junta and deliberately burned down our house," he said.
Analysis of satellite imagery showed that at least two smaller Rohingya settlements near Budidang were set on fire in May as Rakhine State forces advanced through the countryside, cross-referencing sites declared occupied by militias.
The United Nations' Rod Javier said their analysis of the burning of Rohingya settlements in the days leading up to the Budidang arson showed that only Muslim areas were set on fire. He said a similar "very strategic burning" was seen in the Budidang arson case.
According to four residents in Budidang, the withdrawal of military junta forces in Budidang on 15 May raised hopes that there would be no battle for control in the town.
"At first, we thought AA wouldn't cause us trouble because there was no need to fight in the city," Sawyed said. ”。“ So, we're ready to make friends. ”
At around 6:30 p.m. on May 17, three Rohingya elders met with Arakan Army fighters on the outskirts of a nearby village.
According to two people familiar with the matter, the Arakan Army instructed residents not to leave Butidang before the morning. But at least some of the Rohingya were individually asked to leave immediately, according to the United Nations' Rod Javier, who said the militia had issued similar warnings before burning down other settlements they were advancing.
But just a few hours later, according to five Rohingya residents, Arakan army soldiers — recognizable by their uniforms and the Rakhine dialect they speak — entered Bhutidaw.
Around 9:30 p.m., a 24-year-old shopkeeper who identified himself as Nuru saw AA troops in a northern block.
Soon after, chaos erupted. "Many people fled their homes to warn us that AA was coming and burned down their homes," he said. ”。
Around the same time, Zaw Win, a 38-year-old grocer, found his house in the south of the town on fire.
"There was fire all around us, from north to south," he said. ”。“ They set fire to us. ”
Rod Javier said the Rakhine State army used incendiary sticks doused with gasoline to ignite and spread the fire. It was previously reported that a similar tactic was used against the Rohingya in 2017.
The area around Budidang's main hospital was also set on fire by fighters from the Rakhine State Army, where dozens of Rohingya had sought refuge, two witnesses said.
"I heard people yelling and begging for help," one of them said, describing a house on fire.
The neighborhoods identified by Nuru, Zowin and other witnesses matched areas razed by the fire in satellite imagery reviewed by Reuters.
Many of the Rohingya in Budidang fled west along the main road to the coastal settlements of Mendow.
Even when you are far from the fire, the danger does not end. Around midnight, a group of people fleeing in the direction of Mondu began to gather in the fields around Budidang prison.
But according to three witnesses, they were blocked by Rakhine State Army soldiers, some of whom fired into the air, causing more chaos.
Safu · Rahman, his wife Jamila and their two children, five and two, escaped the scuffle, but he said it was after his brother was killed in the scuffle.
"The town was reduced to ashes before my eyes," Jamila said. ”。“ It's hell on earth. ”
The family walked to Bangladesh, a journey that took them six days. Separated from the coastal areas bordering Bangladesh by mountains, Rahman said his family survives by eating leaves and coconuts.
"All I knew was that I needed to protect my daughter and wife," he said in an interview near the town of Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, where there are huge refugee camps.
Once the displaced Rohingya are accepted, Dhaka has said it will no longer welcome refugees from war-torn neighboring countries, leaving Rahman fearful deportation. Bangladesh's interior and foreign ministries did not respond to requests for comment.
"There's nothing left there," Rahman said. ”。“ They will kill us. ”