Largest massacre in Myanmar’s 76 year long civil war with 912 women and children mass-murdered by the AA Narco-Army in Rakhine State
Yangon, 10 February 2024
On 8 February 2024, a tragic incident unfolded in Myanmar’s Rakhine State along the Kaladan River, marking one of the most devastating events in the country’s 76-year-long Civil War. Reports indicate that 912 women and children, dependent family members of Myanmar Government Defence Forces, who were being evacuated from their bases to the Rakhine state capital, Sittwe, fell victim to violence.
The Arakan Army (AA) and its associated civilian militias, amid an ongoing conflict with Myanmar Government Forces in Rakhine state since December 2023, allegedly targeted the refugee boats carrying the evacuees. The conflict has witnessed Myanmar military setbacks, prompting evacuation orders for government employees’ family members from Kyauk Taw city on 7 February 2024 morning before the refugees boarded 3 river transport flat bed boats and sailed 57 mile downstream to the State Capital Sittwe.
The refugee boats, transporting thousands of women and children, were reportedly attacked by AA and its drug cartel armies alliance with armed drones and rocket launchers along the Kaladan River. Tragedy struck when one of the vessels ran aground near “Nay Pu Khan” village on 8 February. During rescue operations, all three transport ships were allegedly attacked by AA and their allied drug cartel armed groups, resulting in the sinking of the vessels.
Survivors who managed to reach the river bank were reported to have faced further violence, including hacking to death by AA and local Rakhine-Buddhist militias from nearby villages. Some witnesses claimed instances of rape before murder, and children allegedly being tied on the road and run over with construction vehicles. According to reliable sources, a total of 912 women and children on Myanmar Government refugee boats lost their lives in the incident.
The AA Arakan Army claimed responsibility for the incident on their official news release and number of murder victims are reconfirmed by Myanmar Government sources.
This tragic event has further intensified the already prolonged and complex Civil War, the longest active civil conflict in the world. The consequences of such brutality in a country with a diverse population of 55 million people, comprising 135 ethnic groups and numerous revolutionary armies, remain unpredictable.
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