The Arakan Rohingya National Council (ARNC) has issued allegations that the Arakan Army (AA) killed over 600 Rohingya people in Rakhine State’s Buthidaung Township, a claim that AA spokesperson Khaing Thukha strongly denies. He stated that these accusations are timed to cover up mass killings committed by the terrorist military forces. The military council made these allegations on August 15, claiming that AA was committing genocide against Rohingya people in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships.
According to the military’s statement, the AA allegedly killed more than 600 local villagers in Than Shauk Kan village, Inner Ngasar village tract, Buthidaung Township in May 2024. The village, locally known as Hoya Siri, is located on the east bank of the Mayu River along the Buthidaung-Rathedaung road. AA spokesperson Khaing Thukha explained that these allegations are attempts by the terrorist military council to cover up their own mass killings, coordinating with Muslim terrorist groups to make synchronized accusations. He emphasized that the AA will continue to fight while standing on the side of truth.
Regarding the Than Shauk Kan village battle, Khaing Thukha clarified what actually occurred. He explained that during the Buthidaung battle, military council troops retreated to Than Shauk Kan village, where AA forces engaged them in a three-day battle that resulted in hundreds of military casualties. The villagers of Than Shauk Kan had already evacuated before the fighting began, and after the battles concluded, 791 displaced villagers returned to their homes. They are currently residing in the new Than Shauk Kan village area.
The military council has also made additional allegations, claiming that the AA burned houses in seven wards of Buthidaung town and Kyein Lat village, and that AA drone attacks on a school housing refugees in Buthidaung town in May 2024 injured nearly 200 locals. They further alleged that AA drone strikes on August 5, 2024, killed over 200 Rohingya who were waiting to flee by boat on the Naf River west of Maungdaw. Khaing Thukha had previously denied these allegations during a press conference on August 11, stating that claims of AA killing over 600 Rohingya were false. Currently, the terrorist military is facing charges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) for genocide and war crimes committed against Rohingya people in Rakhine State during 2016 and 2017, with international news sources reporting that the ICC is seeking an arrest warrant for terrorist military leader Min Aung Hlaing.
