Myanmar rebel group Arakan Army admits to beheading two prisoners of war in Rakhine state

A Myanmar rebel group has admitted to killing prisoners of war, a rare acknowledgment of war crimes committed in its fight against the ruling military junta, according to experts. This news contains disturbing details, and reader discretion is advised.

In a two-minute video circulating on social media, approximately seven men in Arakan Army (AA) uniforms and carrying firearms are seen kicking and beating two shirtless men. Another video shows what are believed to be the same perpetrators beheading the captives with machete-like blades.

Arakan Army spokesman Khaing Thukha admitted that the videos were authentic and that the perpetrators were members of the Arakan Army. He stated that the incident, a “breach of military discipline,” occurred last February during an Arakan Army offensive in Kyauktaw Township, Rakhine State. He also confirmed that the two victims were soldiers from the Myanmar military junta.

Khaing Thukha explained, “Our local (Arakan Army) militia could not control their anger and committed the crime... It was retaliation for the unjust arrest, torture, and killing of their family members by the Myanmar terrorist army soldiers.” He stated that the Arakan Army has identified and punished all those involved, adding that the group does not condone unlawful killings, but did not provide further details. The deliberate killing of prisoners of war violates the rules of war as outlined in the Geneva Conventions.

Rakhine State in western Myanmar is divided by ethnic and religious differences. The region gained global attention in 2017 when a bloody crackdown by the Myanmar military forced approximately 740,000 Rohingya Muslims across the border into Bangladesh. The Arakan Army states that they are fighting for autonomy for the Rakhine people from the ruling military junta. The group has also been accused of assisting the military in the expulsion of the Rohingya. The military junta launched a coup in 2021, overthrowing the elected civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The armed group claims that it fully controlled a key area along the border with Bangladesh in December, further intensifying the junta’s fight against opposition forces across the country.

David Scott Mathieson, an independent analyst on Myanmar issues, said the videos of the killings were shocking. He told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, "The video footage is direct evidence of war crimes, pure and simple." He believes that the incident, which occurred near Kyauktaw nearly a year ago, suggests that similar incidents may have taken place as the conflict has sharply escalated in 2024. He believes that the Arakan Army must immediately take steps to investigate and punish the perpetrators, but added that the group needs to be transparent about its internal justice system.

Mathieson emphasized that the broader context of the war should not be forgotten, stating that “the vast majority of human rights abuses are being committed by Myanmar security forces.” He also noted that “Rakhine cannot be looked at in isolation from the rest of Myanmar, where the State Administration Council (military junta) has been engaged in widespread and systematic attacks on civilians, burning over 100,000 homes and conducting daily airstrikes on schools, hospitals, markets, and people’s homes, including civilian shelters.” He added, “Many other insurgent groups also commit atrocities against prisoners of war and civilians, but nowhere near the routine scale of abuse by the Myanmar military.”

Mathieson stated that the recent renewed offensive in Rakhine has resulted in thousands of casualties on both sides. “But to symbolize the savagery of the fighting in Rakhine, Myanmar State Administration Council forces frequently bomb locations where prisoners of war and their families are hiding, resulting in multiple deaths.” He pointed out, “The Myanmar State Administration Council has been directly targeting civilians for years, and as the Arakan Army has taken more and more towns in the state over the past year, they have used airstrikes, drones, artillery, and naval gunboats, destroying markets and civilian homes as the Myanmar State Administration Council retreats.”

In the past, the military junta has denied targeting civilians, claiming that its forces only attack legitimate military targets. Mathieson said that reports of Arakan Army abuses against prisoners of war and civilians, including ethnic Rakhine civilians, Rohingya Muslims, Chin people, and other minorities, have been circulating for years. “The Arakan Army should be commended for quickly acknowledging the recent reports, but more needs to be done to ensure the discipline of its forces,” he said.

Last October, Tom Andrews, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, reported to the UN General Assembly that there were concerns about abuses committed by the Arakan Army in northern Rakhine State. The human rights group Fortify Rights called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) last week to investigate the war crimes committed by the Arakan Army in the beheading incident. Karim Khan, a spokesperson for the ICC Prosecutor’s Office, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that its investigations are limited because Myanmar is not a signatory to the ICC, but neighboring Bangladesh is. “Therefore, prosecutable crimes in the Bangladesh/Myanmar situation are limited to those with a cross-border element, for example, the crime against humanity of deportation,” the spokesperson said.

“Based on this jurisdictional limitation, the Prosecutor’s Office investigation is focused on the waves of violence that occurred in Rakhine State, Myanmar, in 2016 and 2017, and the exodus of Rohingya people from Myanmar to Bangladesh.” The spokesperson declined to provide further information about its investigation, citing confidentiality. The ICC announced last year that it was seeking an arrest warrant for General Min Aung Hlaing, the commander-in-chief of the Myanmar military, for the forced deportation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya civilians to Bangladesh in 2017.