GENEVA: Myanmar’s Rakhine State is on the brink of a catastrophic humanitarian crisis similar to genocidal violence against the Rohingya minority in 2016 and 2017, warned a United Nations expert on Thursday.
Thomas Andrews, the special rapporteur on Myanmar, addressed the United Nations Human Rights Council with deep concern over the escalating situation in western Myanmar.
“The situation in Rakhine State, where the junta is losing territory to the Arakan Army, is terrifying,” Andrews said.
The Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic Rakhine armed group, initiated attacks against security forces in November, marking the end of a ceasefire that had held since Myanmar’s military coup in 2021. Since then, AA fighters have seized significant portions of territory, intensifying pressure on the military junta already engaged in multiple conflicts across the country.
Andrews highlighted the military’s conscription of Rohingya youth into combat against the AA as a troubling development. “Even though many Rohingya young men have been forcibly mobilized, the potential for retaliatory violence from the Arakan community looms large,” he cautioned.
Reports have emerged linking AA soldiers to human rights abuses against Rohingya civilians, compounding an already dire humanitarian crisis affecting both Rohingya Muslims and ethnic Rakhine populations in the region.
“The situation has displaced tens, if not hundreds of thousands, in Rakhine State,” Andrews noted.
In May, the AA claimed control over Buthidaung, a town in northern Rakhine heavily populated by Rohingya Muslims. Subsequent reports from Rohingya diaspora groups accused the AA of forcing Rohingya to flee, followed by allegations of looting and burning of their homes, which the AA denied as propaganda.
The AA, advocating for autonomy for ethnic Rakhine people, has expressed intentions to extend its control throughout Rakhine State.
