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Over 28,000 Homes Torched by Myanmar Junta Forces Since Coup

August 29, 2022/in News

By THE IRRAWADDY 29 August 2022 Myanmar junta forces have burned down 28,434 houses in 645 locations since last year’s coup, with Sagaing Region suffering the heaviest damage, according to the independent research group Data For Myanmar. Military regime troops have committed arson attacks in 11 states and regions, with Sagaing and Magwe regions and Chin State […]

Myanmar’s Rohingya: Five Years of Crisis

August 23, 2022/in News

Myanmar’s military launched a ferocious crackdown against the country’s Rohingya Muslim population in 2017, driving more than 740,000 refugees into neighboring Bangladesh. Here are the key dates in the five-year crisis: Army operations Early on the morning of Aug. 25, 2017 a shadowy Rohingya militant group called the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) stages coordinated attacks […]

Over 28,000 Homes Torched by Myanmar Junta Forces Since Coup

August 29, 2022/in News

Myanmar’s Rohingya: Five Years of Crisis

August 23, 2022/in News

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Over 28,000 Homes Torched by Myanmar Junta Forces Since Coup

August 29, 2022/in News

By THE IRRAWADDY 29 August 2022

Myanmar junta forces have burned down 28,434 houses in 645 locations since last year’s coup, with Sagaing Region suffering the heaviest damage, according to the independent research group Data For Myanmar.

Military regime troops have committed arson attacks in 11 states and regions, with Sagaing and Magwe regions and Chin State bearing the brunt of the junta’s campaign against civilians.

From February 1, 2021 to August 25, 2022, some 20,153 houses in Sagaing Region were torched by junta forces. Magwe Region saw 5,418 properties burned down, while 1,474 houses in Chin State were destroyed. Another 1,400-odd homes were torched elsewhere in the country.

Despite the United Nation’s (UN) Special Envoy Noeleen Heyzer calling on coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on August 17 to cease air and artillery strikes on civilian targets and the torching of homes, regime soldiers have conducted arson attacks and airstrikes on more than 20 villages in Sagaing and Magwe in the last nine days.

Over a dozen civilians have been killed, while an estimated 50,000 people have been forced to flee their homes, according to local residents and People’s Defense Forces.

Data For Myanmar said that regime forces escalated their arson attacks in Sagaing in April, May and June of this year, torching over 12,000 houses. 27 out of 34 townships in Sagaing reported junta arson attacks.

Magwe Region also saw an escalation in regime arson attacks in August losing 1,300 houses, added Data For Myanmar.

The research group said that it used reports from the media, rights groups and refugee organizations to calculate the number of homes destroyed. However, the actual number of houses burned down may be higher than the reported figures, as many regime arson attacks have yet to be verified.

Junta forces have increased their arson attacks and airstrikes against civilian targets since September last year, when the civilian National Unity Government declared war against the regime.

In mid-August, the UN Special Envoy also called on the junta leader to end all forms of violence, to show full respect for human rights and the rule of law, and to allow full and safe humanitarian access to those in need.

But the Myanmar military has continued to commit atrocities including burning people alive, the arbitrary torture and killings of civilians, extrajudicial killings of resistance detainees, using civilian detainees as human shields, artillery and airstrikes on residential areas, looting and burning houses and acts of sexual violence.

Some 2,249 people have been killed by the regime up to August 26, while 15,239 people including elected government leaders have been arrested or detained, said the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a group that monitors arrests and deaths by junta forces.

Topics: Chin State, Coup, Data for Myanmar, junta, Magwe, military regime, Myanmar Military, Sagaing, UN, United Nations

Myanmar’s Rohingya: Five Years of Crisis

August 23, 2022/in News

Myanmar’s military launched a ferocious crackdown against the country’s Rohingya Muslim population in 2017, driving more than 740,000 refugees into neighboring Bangladesh.

Here are the key dates in the five-year crisis:

Army operations

Early on the morning of Aug. 25, 2017 a shadowy Rohingya militant group called the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) stages coordinated attacks on dozens of police posts in Myanmar’s coastal Rakhine State, killing at least a dozen officers.

The army retaliates with operations in Rohingya villages, ostensibly to flush out insurgents.

It says it killed 400 militants but opponents say most of the dead are civilians.

The UN says at least 1,000 people were killed in the first two weeks of the military operations.

Refugee exodus

By Sept. 5 more than 120,000 Rohingya have fled into Bangladesh, overwhelming its ill-equipped refugee camps.

There are already at least 200,000 Rohingya in Bangladesh from previous waves of violence.

Suu Kyi breaks silence

International anger mounts against Myanmar. Soldiers are accused of razing Rohingya homes and some world leaders allege “ethnic cleansing” has taken place.

In her first statement on the crisis, Myanmar’s civilian leader and Nobel Peace laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi pledges on Sept. 19 to hold rights violators to account but refuses to blame the army.

Possible ‘genocide’

Bangladesh and Myanmar on Nov. 23 agree to start repatriating refugees.

But the UN High Commissioner for Refugees says conditions are not in place for their safe return and the process halts.

UN human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Dec. 5 warns of possible “elements of genocide” and calls for an international investigation.

Courts and sanctions

On Aug. 25, 2018, tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees stage protests to mark the first anniversary of their exodus.

UN investigators call for the prosecution of Myanmar’s army chief and five other top military commanders for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

In November an attempt to repatriate 2,260 Rohingya fails as they refuse to leave without guarantees for their safety.

Reporters jailed

On Sept. 3, two Reuters journalists who are accused of breaching Myanmar’s state secrets law while reporting on a Rohingya massacre are jailed for seven years.

They will spend more than 500 days behind bars before being released on a presidential pardon.

US sanctions

On July 16, 2019, Washington announces sanctions against Myanmar’s army chief and three other top officers.

About 3,500 Rohingya refugees are cleared to return home but none turn up to make the journey on Aug. 22.

Legal challenges mount

On Nov. 11 Gambia files a lawsuit at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing Myanmar of genocide for its treatment of the Rohingya.

Three days later the separate Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) green-lights a full investigation into the persecution of the Rohingya.

In the same week, a third case is filed by rights groups in Argentina under the principle of universal jurisdiction.

Suu Kyi in court

On Dec. 11 Gambia lays out its case at the ICJ with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi personally leading Myanmar’s defense.

She refutes accusations of genocide, denying “misleading and incomplete” claims and insisting Myanmar is dealing with an “internal armed conflict”.

She admits the army may have used excessive force.

Court ruling

Delivering its ruling on Jan. 23, 2020, the ICJ orders Myanmar to take urgent steps to prevent alleged genocide and to report back within four months.

Coup d’etat

Myanmar’s military seizes power on Feb. 1, 2021,m ousting the civilian government and later waging a bloody crackdown on dissent.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is put under house arrest and later jailed for 17 years following a closed-door trial in junta court.

With several charges still hanging over her, the 77-year-old faces the possibility of decades behind bars.

US calls genocide

The United States on March 21, 2022 officially declares that the 2017 violence amounted to genocide, saying there was clear evidence of an attempt to “destroy” the Rohingya.

The ICJ rules on July 22 that the case filed by Gambia can proceed.

In the same month the junta executes four prisoners, the country’s first use of capital punishment in decades.

Camp killings

On Aug. 10 two Rohingya community leaders are shot dead in one of the Bangladesh refugee camps, the latest in a string of killings in the settlements.

Rohingya sources tell AFP that ARSA is behind the shootings.

ARSA is accused of running narcotics, murdering political opponents and instilling a climate of fear in the camps.

META DESCRIPTION: A look at the key events that have unfolded since the Myanmar military launched a deadly crackdown on Rohingya in Rakhine State in 2017.

Topics: Coup, genocide, junta, Military, Myanmar, Refugees, regime, Rohingya, Suu Kyi

Irrawaddy News

Spring Revolution

Civil Society Position Paper on ASEAN’s Goal of a Myanmar-Owned and -Led SolutionDecember 18, 2024 - 12:11 pm
Recommendations to ASEAN and Its Member States (1) Move beyond the 5PC to achieve a Myanmar people-led and people-centered solution to the crisis in Myanmar. ASEAN’s “Myanmar-owned and -led” approach must be backed by genuine political will that aligns with and supports the collective aspirations of the people of Myanmar. (2) Cease all pressure on […]
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Human Rights Situation weekly update (September 15 to 21, 2024)September 27, 2024 - 8:26 am
Human Rights Violations took place in States and Regions from Sep 15 to 21, 2024 Military Junta Troop launched airstrikes and dropped bombs in Sagaing Region, Mandalay Region, Shan State, Chin State, Rakhine State, and Kachin State from September 15th to 21st. The Military Junta committed arresting, occupying the properties, threatening by using power, and […]

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GenocideSeptember 2, 2025 - 9:42 am
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ND Burma

ND-Burma formed in 2004 in order to provide a way for Burma human rights organizations to collaborate on the human rights documentation process. The 13 ND-Burma member organizations seek to collectively use the truth of what communities in Burma have endured to advocate for justice for victims. ND-Burma trains local organizations in human rights documentation; coordinates members’ input into a common database using Martus, a secure open-source software; and engages in joint-advocacy campaigns.

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