Rohingya Bodies Discovered in Arakan

In a chilling escalation of violence in western Myanmar, more than 600 decomposed bodies of Rohingya Muslims have been discovered in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships of Arakan (Rakhine) State, according to newly surfaced graphic images and survivor accounts. The shocking discovery, documented by the Arakan News Agency (ANA), points to a systematic massacre of Rohingya civilians, likely carried out under the cover of a total communication blackout and ongoing armed conflict.

The photographs and field reports reveal a horrifying scene: rows of decomposed corpses, some showing signs of torture, execution-style killings, and indiscriminate violence. Most of the victims appear to be unarmed civilians, including women, children, and elderly persons. Many bodies were found in open fields or mass graves, with no dignified burial, no identification, and no accountability.

According to local witnesses and researchers, the victims were Rohingya Muslims, killed in areas where Arakan Army (AA) forces have recently launched military operations and taken control.

Since early May, the conflict-ridden northern Arakan region has been under a total blackout, with the Myanmar military (Tatmadaw) and the Arakan Army both restricting access to journalists, humanitarian workers, and independent monitors. Internet and mobile services remain cut off, and humanitarian aid has been blocked or heavily controlled.

This intentional silencing has enabled mass atrocities to take place in darkness, echoing the same patterns seen during the Rohingya genocide in 2017.

“This is not a battlefield; it’s a killing field,” said one human rights monitor.
“And the world is blindfolded.”

While both the Myanmar military and AA have been active in the region, multiple sources and survivor accounts blame the Arakan Army for the targeted violence against Rohingya. Allegations include:
• Forced disappearances and executions of Rohingya males;
• Destruction of Rohingya villages and homes;
• Arbitrary detention and torture;
• Propaganda meetings coercing Rohingya to submit to AA rule or face consequences.

Despite AA’s public rhetoric of inclusive governance, these crimes suggest a strategy of ethnic cleansing, especially in regions where Rohingya communities resist cooperating with AA forces.

The mass killing of Rohingya civilians under a media blackout demands an immediate and coordinated international response. Rohingya rights groups, including the Rohingya Genocide Prevention Research Network (RoGPRN) and various civil society actors, are urging:
1. Immediate access to northern Arakan for UN fact-finding missions and humanitarian actors;
2. Independent forensic investigation into the mass graves;
3. Criminal accountability for AA leadership and all perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity;
4. International protection for Rohingya civilians still trapped in conflict zones;
5. Emergency aid corridors to reach displaced Rohingya survivors.

“We are witnessing a second phase of genocide,” warned Ro Mayyu Islam, a Rohingya genocide researcher.
“The world must act, or this silence will cost thousands more lives.”

These killings mark a turning point in the Arakan conflict and a grave warning about the vulnerability of the Rohingya population under dual oppression—from the Myanmar military and now from the Arakan Army.

With the international community largely focused on other crises, the Rohingya are once again being exterminated in silence.

Every hour that passes without action puts more lives at risk.

Rohingya Vision News