Abstract
In August, 2017, Myanmar security forces initiated a widespread response against the Rohingya ethnic minority in Northern Rakhine State, displacing thousands of people to Bangladesh. This attack was purportedly in response to attacks committed by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, a non-state insurgent group, on Myanmar police, Border Guard Police, and military posts, killing 12 security personnel on Aug 25, 2017. This study aimed to capture the experiences of the population from all Rohingya hamlets in the Northern Rakhine State who have been displaced to Bangladesh. A quantitative survey was done among Rohingya leaders displaced to refugee camps in Bangladesh. Community leaders from 590 Rohingya hamlets and eight urban wards provided hamlet-level data on the extent, nature, and perpetrators of the violence in Northern Rakhine State in August, 2017, and the resulting morbidity and mortality. From May 28 to July 25, 2018, 462 (77%) of 604 hamlet leaders reported that the primary reason they and their community members fled was because of violence in their hamlet or in a neighbouring hamlet. 568 (94%) respondents reported that they had experienced destruction in their hamlets, including burning or destruction of fields or farms, homes, and mosques; 531 (89%) of 599 respondents reported violence in their hamlets before flight and 373 (64%) of 586 reported violence against civilians in flight. The main perpetrators of violence included but were not limited to Border Guard Police, Myanmar military, and Rakhine extremists. Of the 531 respondents who reported violence in their hamlets, 408 (77%) reported that military forces used helicopters, 372 (70%) reported military vehicles, and 113 (21%) reported tanks in these assaults on civilian communities. We estimate that 7803 Rohingya died from violent and non-violent causes associated with the August, 2017, attacks and subsequent displacement. In 2017, the Rohingya ethnic minority population of Northern Rakhine State were the targets of a campaign of widespread and systematic violence, including violence by state forces. An anonymous grant to Physicians for Human Rights.
Highlights
The Rohingya are a Muslim minority population who trace their roots in the Rakhine state, western Myanmar, to the 8th century CE.[1]
Interpretation In 2017, the Rohingya ethnic minority population of Northern Rakhine State were the targets of a campaign of widespread and systematic violence, including violence by state forces
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya civilians fled to Bangladesh in the weeks after Aug 25, 2017, joining 300 000 Rohingya refugees who had fled attacks in previous years and were residing in Bangladesh.[6,7,8,9]
Summary
The Rohingya are a Muslim minority population who trace their roots in the Rakhine state, western Myanmar, to the 8th century CE.[1]. On Aug 25, 2017, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a non-state armed group, claimed responsibility for attacks on 30 Myanmar police, Border Guard Police, and military posts in the Rakhine state, killing 12 Myanmar security personnel.[4] Subsequently, as sup ported by satellite imagery and reports from refugees,[5] Myanmar security forces launched a widespread military campaign in the Maungdaw, Buthidaung, and Rathedaung townships. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya civilians fled to Bangladesh in the weeks after Aug 25, 2017, joining 300 000 Rohingya refugees who had fled attacks in previous years and were residing in Bangladesh.[6,7,8,9]
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