Bangladesh:- Minority Rohingya Muslims were targeted by heavy weapons as they waited on a Myanmar riverbank for motorboats to carry them to Bangladesh, several survivors of the attack told Radio Free Asia. The witnesses said that dozens of people were killed.

The attacks on Monday were described variously as caused by homemade rockets, artillery and drones that destroyed a motorboat and hit crowds of people who gathered on the Naf River. The victims were fleeing recent intense fighting between the ethnic insurgent Arakan Army and Myanmar junta forces.

Video seen by RFA and circulated on social media showed dozens of bodies on a riverbank, some of them mutilated, amid suitcases and scattered possessions. RFA could not immediately verify the date or location of the citizen-shot video.

Hasan, a 25-year-old Rohingya man who was unharmed in the attack, told RFA that it was carried out by the Arakan Army, or AA, which has made gains in its fight for control of Maungdaw township in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state – part of a wider civil conflict that has consumed much of the country since a 2021 military coup.

“The junta did not attack us with rockets. It was carried out by the AA. We tried to flee to Bangladesh for our survival,” he said. “The victims are our villagers.”

Rohingya have recently been expelled from Maungdaw city’s downtown area, where many had fled because of fighting in rural areas, according to Wai Wai Nu, a Burmese activist and visiting senior research fellow at University of California, Berkeley.

The situation in Maungdaw is a “deadly catastrophe” as Rohingya civilians are being targeted for “escalating atrocities,” she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

“I’m being informed of mass killings of 50+ #Rohingya civilians by the #Arakan Army, among many other brutalities,” she wrote, citing community sources. “Rohingya are also being killed in crossfires of armed conflict between #Myanmar junta & #AA by drones & heavy weaponry.”

Witnesses who spoke to RFA put the death toll as high as 200. RFA was unable to verify those estimates.

AA’s denial

Maungdaw is a key trade hub for goods flowing in and out of Myanmar via Bangladesh. The city of Maungdaw is the township’s administrative center and has served as an important base for junta forces in Rakhine state.

In a statement on Wednesday, the AA expressed its condolences for the victims at the Naf River but said it wasn’t responsible for the deaths, which it noted took place in an area of Maungdaw township that isn’t under its control.

The AA also noted that it began warning civilians in Maungdaw township to leave their homes on June 16, just before fighting intensified for Maungdaw city. 

RFA attempted to contact AA spokesperson Khaing Thu Kha via Telegram to ask about the attacks but he didn’t immediately respond. 

The AA, which has long fought against central rule in Myanmar, claims to represent everyone living in Rakhine state but is predominantly Buddhist and has previously been accused of atrocities against Rohingya.

Rohingya activist Ro San Lwin, who is based in Europe, said he was also told that the AA targeted Rohingya civilians with rocket attacks, which he said should be designated as crimes against humanity and war crimes.

“We have informed this attack to foreign governments, relevant governments, Western governments and ASEAN countries,” he said. “They have reportedly contacted the AA to persuade the AA not to do so.”

Trapped in Maungdaw

About 1 million stateless Rohingya refugees live in tightly packed border camps in Bangladesh. Most fled there in 2017 to escape violent crackdowns in Rakhine state that were blamed on the Myanmar military.

The flow of people seeking refuge in Bangladesh has picked up as security has deteriorated due to the latest fighting in Rakhine state. Over the last two days, about 1,000 Rohingya have entered Bangladesh, a person who has lived in one of the Bangladesh camps since 2017 told RFA.

That’s despite the recent domestic political turmoil that has gripped Bangladesh. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and left the country following weeks of protests and deadly clashes in the capital, Dhaka. 

People are being charged 800,000 kyat (US$150) to be carried across from Maungdaw to Bangladesh, Hasan said. Those who cannot afford the fee – likely thousands of people – are still trapped in Maungdaw, he said.

On Tuesday, a boat carrying Rohingya capsized in the Naf River, killing at least 10 people, including children.

Authorities in Teknaf in Bangladesh told Agence France-Presse that 29 Rohingya were on board and just 10 bodies have been recovered. Some of those on the boat were able to swim to shore, according to the report.

Elsewhere in Rakhine state, about 100 civilians were arrested in Sittwe on Monday night as junta troops conducted security checks out of concern that AA members had infiltrated the state capital, residents said. 

A battle between the AA and the junta for control of Sittwe has been anticipated for months. Junta troops prepared for the defense of the city by deploying heavy weapons, warships and ground forces in surrounding villages.

RFA was unable to reach junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for comment on the situation in Maungdaw and Sittwe. RFA/SP